Welcome to the Ashley National Forest
The Ashley National Forest encompasses about 1.4 million acres in northeastern Utah and southwestern Wyoming. Of the total acres, 276,175 are High Uintas Wilderness.
The national forest is located in three major areas: the northern and southern slopes of the Uinta Mountains, the Wyoming Basin, and the Tavaputs Plateau. Elevations range from 5,500 feet on the Green River to 13,528 feet at the summit of King’s Peak (the highest point in Utah). About 70 percent of the Ashley falls within the Uinta Mountains. This is the largest east-west trending mountain range in the lower 48 states.
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In the Spotlight
What's new on the Ashley National Forest? The latest news on the hottest topics are available here. Stay tuned, as these topics change.
Ashley Karst National Recreation Geologic Area
Great American Outdoors Act
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Visit the Forest
The Ashley National Forest posts critical information via alerts, notifications, fire information for your safety. #KnowBeforeYouGo
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About Us
Learn more about the Ashley National Forest and the recreation and resources we have to offer for your next adventure. Contact us with your questions!
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Recreate Responsibly during COVID-19
The Ashley National Forest asks the public to please recreate responsibly. Law enforcement and/or search and rescue operations may be limited due to COVID-19 issues. High-risk activities such as rock climbing, etc. or backcountry activities that increase your chance of injury or distress should be avoided. We also encourage you to follow public health guidelines regarding social distancing while you recreate in National Forests.
Ashley National Forest Project Spotlights
Ashley National Forest - Forest Plan Revision
The Ashley National Forest is currently revising the Forest Plan. The Ashley's existing Forest Plan is from 1986 and needs to be updated to reflect current natural resource conditions.
All Current and Recent Projects
Note: Not all projects may appear on map. See list below for complete list of projects with more information or documentation.
Developing Proposal
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D1 Roadside Sanitation Project
This project would involve cutting dwarf mistletoe infected trees along roadways to improve forest health. The project would also help reduce fire hazard and would provide additional firewood collection opportunities to the public.
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Dutch John Right-of-Way
The Town of Dutch John has requested a right-of-way easement for the unnamed frontage road located on the east side of the Forest Service yard in Dutch John, UT. The town would widen the current road by about 50 feet and lengthen it about 150 feet.
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Eagle Creek Ranch Water Storage Tank
Eagle Creek Ranch currently has a special use permit for a culinary water system on National Forest System lands. This project would involve authorizing them to replace their water tank and reconstruct their water system.
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Lowline Trailhead Parking Area
We are proposing to seasonally open an administrative use road and construct a trailhead. The purpose of the project is to offer safer parking for recreationists off of Highway 191.
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Red Cloud Loop Winter Parking
We would relocate a gate approximately 1 mile to the northwest of its current location and improve a turn-around area at this location. This would provide a winter parking location with more reliable snow cover for over the snow winter activities.
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Soapstone Calcite Project
Proposal to construct approximately 1 mile of new access road, across the Ashley NF and UWC NF, and then begin small-scale hardrock mining operations for decorative calcite on the Ashley NF, near the headwaters of Iron Mine Creek.
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Stateline Cove Campground Improvements
The campground concessionaire and the Forest Service would construct a drivable path from the campground to the water area and install a new loading dock in the water.
Under Analysis
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Amendments to Land Management Plans Regarding Sage-grouse Conservation
The Forest Service is considering amending its land management plans to address new and evolving issues arising since implementing sage-grouse plans in 2015. This project is in cooperation with the USDI Bureau of Land Management.
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Ashley Karst National Recreation and Geologic Management Plan
The Ashley NF is preparing to develop a management plan for the Congressionally designated Ashley Karst National Recreation and Geologic Area. This may be an administrative plan rather than an EA if no site-specific proposed actions are involved.
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Ashley National Forest - Forest Plan Revision
The Ashley National Forest is currently revising the Forest Plan. The Ashley's existing Forest Plan is from 1986 and needs to be updated to reflect current natural resource conditions.
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Ashley National Forest Aspen Restoration Project
This is a programmatic evaluation of the restoration of aspen stands on the Ashley NF outside of Wilderness.
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Ashley NF Forest-wide Prescribed Fire Restoration Project
The proposed project would authorize prescribed burns across the Forest up to 24,000 acres/year. Treatment boundaries would be designed to meet objectives and move areas toward desired conditions. Wilderness, RNAs, private land, & alpine excluded.
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Cart Creek Vegetation Project
This is a proposed timber and forest health project that includes aspects of fuels reduction, public safety, and aspen restoration. The project area is within a Utah Shared Stewardship priority landscape area.
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Dry Creek Trona Mine Project
The BLM is considering a trona mine proposal from Pacific and Atlantic Soda Company. A portion of the proposal involves construction of a water line across the northern end of the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area on the Ashley NF.
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Forest Wide Range Improvement Project
This project would involve the construction of various range improvements, including water systems, drift fences, and spring exclosures, to improve cattle distribution on the Vernal and Roosevelt-Duchesne Ranger Districts.
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Green River to Buckboard Fiber Optic Cable Project
All West is seeking to install a fiber optic cable from Green River, WY to the Buckboard Marina and Campground. Approximately 3 miles of the 24-mile project would occur on the Ashley National Forest.
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Hells Canyon Road Intervisible Turnouts
We are proposing to build intervisible pullouts along the Hells Canyon Road by widening the road in select locations. This would allow vehicles to pull over and pass each other safely on this narrow road.
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High Uintas Wilderness Domestic Sheep Analysis Project (Ashley and UWC National Forests)
This project will evaluate the effects of continued domestic sheep grazing in the High Uintas Wilderness (HUW). There are 10 sheep allotments located on the north and south slopes of HUW and are located in both the Ashley and Uinta-Wasatch-Cache NFs.
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Mill Park Mineral Exploration
Small-scale mineral exploration. Trenching and sampling for valuable minerals, within disturbance footprint of existing Forest Service rock quarry near Mill Park in Hells Canyon area. Less than 10 days work. Disturbance less than 0.1 acres.
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Reservation Ridge Snow Plowing
The applicant has requested access to their private property on Reservation Ridge in the winter with a highway legal vehicle. The Forest Service holds the road right-of-way in this location, so the proponent would need to obtain a special use permit.
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Uinta Basin Railway Project
The Surface Transportation Board is proposing to build a railroad along Hwy 191 through Indian Canyon. The route would go from Kyune, UT to Myton, UT, passing just south of Duchesne, UT. See https://www.uintabasinrailwayeis.com for more information.
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Yellowstone Borrow Site Expansion Project
We would expand an existing Forest Service borrow site used for road maintenance surfacing and fill material for all the roads in the Yellowstone Canyon area. The current size of the borrow site is 1/2 acre. We would expand the site to be 1 acre.
Analysis Completed
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Moon Lake Salvage Project
250 acres of timber salvage and 762 acres of tree seedling planting approximately 1 mile south of Moon Lake. This area experienced uncharacteristic stand-replacement fire in ponderosa pine during the 2020 East Fork Fire.
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Moroni Exploration Project
The proponents have submitted a plan of operations for mineral exploration activities in the Iron Mine Creek area. The plan includes trenching, bulk sampling, and 0.59 miles of temporary road construction for heavy equipment access.
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Old Stockmore Administrative Site Conveyance
The Roosevelt/Duchesne Ranger District of the Ashley National Forest proposes to convey portions of the Stockmore administrative site to GSA as excess property.
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Western Area Power Administration Right-of-Way Maintenance and Reauthorization Project
Update vegetation management activities along 278 miles of transmission lines located on NFS lands in Colorado, Nebraska, and Utah. These activities are intended to protect the transmission lines by managing for stable, low growth vegetation.
Project Archive
Some of our older projects can be accessed in our Project Archive.