Valar Watch · Fact dir-035

Fact dir-035

newrecordconfirmed Four applications for state site-study permits on about 8,300 acres for 'industrial and manufacturing development' were posted Feb. 19, 2026; none names the applicant

2026-02-19 · dir-035 · Utah Trust Lands Administration, Resource Development Coordinating Committee, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

On 19 February 2026 the state's Resource Development Coordinating Committee (RDCC) posted four applications for Trust Lands right-of-entry (site-study) permits as projects 87096 to 87099, numbered 7672, 7674, 7675 and 7676. Comments were due 3 March and the stated start was 6 March. Each notice says that Trust Lands 'has received a Right-of-Entry (ROE) permit application' for cultural-resource surveys, geotechnical investigations and similar studies 'to evaluate the feasibility of a potential industrial and manufacturing development', and that 'No permanent development is proposed under the Right-of-Entry authorization.' Trust Lands' permit maps, dated 18 February 2026, give the areas: 7672, 1,812.94 acres near Green River (T20S R15E and T21S R15-16E, Emery County); 7674, 5,381.59 acres south and west of Price (T14-15S R9-10E, Carbon County); 7675, 634.32 acres, nearly all of Section 16, T14S R11E, north of Wellington (Carbon County; the map leaves out a small southeast corner); 7676, 487.83 acres in Sections 2 and 16, T16S R13E (Emery County). That is 8,316.68 acres in all. The notices record that local governments were contacted on 19 February. The only state comments were Division of Wildlife Resources recommendations of 3 March 2026: three of the areas are crucial year-long pronghorn habitat; white-tailed prairie dogs, burrowing owls and kit foxes could occur; and hawks are known to nest near two of the areas. No applicant is named in the four notices, the four maps or the comment letters, and no record read shows the permits were issued: the register lists all four as 'State Comment Published'.

In plain termsIn February the state logged four applications for permits to survey and test about 8,300 acres of state land in Carbon and Emery counties for possible industrial development. The public records do not say who applied, or show that the permits were issued. One of the four covers nearly all of the square mile where the state later approved leasing 480 acres to Valar.

RDCC project register: projects 87096-87099 (Right-of-Entry Permits #7672, #7674, #7675, #7676) and 87203 (SULA 2095) (Utah Resource Development Coordinating Committee (Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office), 2026-02-19) primary government “to evaluate the feasibility of a potential industrial and manufacturing development”
Right of Entry No. 7672 - Geotechnical Survey (permit map, file ROE_7672_SULA_1622_02182026.pdf) (Utah Trust Lands Administration (via the RDCC project register), 2026-02-18) primary government “Right of Entry No. 7672 - 1,812.94 Acres”
Right of Entry No. 7674 - Geotechnical Survey (permit map) (Utah Trust Lands Administration (via the RDCC project register), 2026-02-18) primary government “Right of Entry No. 7674 - 5,381.59 Acres”
Right of Entry No. 7675 - Geotechnical Survey (permit map) (Utah Trust Lands Administration (via the RDCC project register), 2026-02-18) primary government “Right of Entry No. 7675 - 634.32 Acres”
Right of Entry No. 7676 - Geotechnical Survey (permit map) (Utah Trust Lands Administration (via the RDCC project register), 2026-02-18) primary government “Right of Entry No. 7676 - 487.83 Acres”
Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office letter on Right-of-Entry Permit #7674 (Division of Wildlife Resources comments) (Utah Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office, 2026-03-03) primary government “within crucial year-long pronghorn habitat”

verified 2026-09-30: Read 30 Sept 2026: the RDCC records (all fields; dates converted from epoch ms, UTC and Mountain time), all four permit maps (raster PDFs, read as images; acreage legends zoomed at full resolution) and the four comment letters in full. The acreages sum to 8,316.68. Copies are archived with checksums. Skeptic pass 2026-09-30 (two independent checks): applications not issued permits; 'nearly all' of Section 16; areas recomputed on the ellipsoid.

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