Perkins Flat in Emigration Canyon sold as open space for $1.4 million
Highland Meadows Forever.
It only sounds like a tacky John Denver title. But thanks to a coalition of open-space supporters, that is the reality for 190 acres known as Perkins Flat that will be preserved in perpetuity in Emigration Canyon, east of Salt Lake City.
The land sale and corresponding conservation easement, to be held by Utah Open Lands, were finalized this week.
Valued near $2.4 million, the grassy hillside three miles up Emigration was sold by MSICo for $1.4 million.
Besides community sponsors and residents, major donors included Salt Lake County, EnergySolutions Environmental Foundation, Willard L. Eccles Foundation, R. Harold Burton Foundation and Utah's conservation fund.
The land just east of Ruth's Diner, once targeted for housing and commercial development, features a 28-acre meadow bisected by Emigration Creek.
It also is considered the historic campground of a Mormon pioneer scout group led by Orson Pratt and Erastus Snow in 1847.
By Derek P. Jensen, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
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