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Morgan County officials are weighing a request to rezone an undeveloped piece of the Wasatch Back to allow a resort on critical sage grouse lek, or habitat.
The development proposal could damage the state's most popular lek, where birders flock every April to observe the grouse's peculiar mating ritual.
Property owners' plans for their 2,800 acres of land have sparked an outcry from conservationists as well as locals who fear high-density development would degrade the rural character and quiet on the north shore of East Canyon Reservoir.
But proponents, a group of 52 property owners, say such objections are premature because they haven't even proposed a project yet and are working with state wildlife officials.
"We don't want to destroy anything, but make it something that works for everyone. There are property rights issues that need to be respected here," said Robyn Scott, one of the owners and the agent for their company, Yaryca LLC. "We have a proposal to protect that lek. But they won't let us get to the next step to present it. They [rezone critics] need to calm down."
On Tuesday, the Morgan County Council is expected to vote on whether to change the zoning from "natural resources and recreation," a designation that allows just one home per 160 acres, to "master-planned community." The change requires an amendment to the county's general plan.
"It was never our plan to cover that hillside with cabin sites. This is a proposal to go to the next step," Scott said. "We are zoned to build. Right now, it's one building site for 160 acres. That's not something anybody wants to see.
Scott says the property owners deserve some credit for preserving the land in an undeveloped state for so many years.
"We want to protect that area. We could have opened it up to four-wheelers," she said. "The only reason it's a pristine area is because we kept it that way. We don't even hunt it."
Located north of the junction of state routes 65 and 66, up East Canyon Creek from Porterville, the land is where historic trails, wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation and water intersect. The original Mormon Trail passes through on a route also followed by the Donner Party and the Pony Express.
The property's future is complicated by its inclusion in one of the management zones delineated in Utah's greater sage grouse conservation plan.
"This is the first test of the state plan that the governor is holding up as proof that the feds don't need to list this species" under the Endangered Species Act, said Allison Jones, executive director of the Wild Utah Project.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is to decide next year whether to list greater sage grouse as threatened. Utah officials say a listing would limit grazing, oil and gas development and motorized access to federal lands.
In a split vote, the Morgan County planning commission signed off on the proposed rezone last month. If the council approves it, subsequent development could silence two area leks, which would suggest the state plan lacks enough teeth to save sage grouse, according to Jones, a conservation biologist who serves on the governor's sage grouse advisory council.
Located about a mile from the property, the Henefer Divide lek has been a busy place for at least the last 45 springs. This year, 25 males came to strut and thump in search of mates, far less than the 35 to 72 that came in recent years, according to state lekking data.
The Pioneer Camp lek, located inside the rezone area, saw five males this year, down from 39 in 2009.
Critics of the rezoning have been under the impression that Yaryca intends to build 1,700 residential units, but the property owners say that is a misconception that arose because an old development proposal was included in submissions to the planning commission.
The partnership has made no plans to build, nor does it expect to develop the land itself, according to owner Glen Burton, who holds 60 acres.
The idea is to secure the zoning change, then sell to a developer who figures out what and how to build.
Water rights are already in place.
"It will be some type of a small village with retail sales and boat shop. We have enough ground that we could make habitat sections for the wildlife," said Burton, a retired longtime Weber County official now living in Mesquite, Nev.