Hyperlocal Engagement in Upper Big Cottonwood Canyon, UT
A major win for community-led stewardship in the Central Wasatch.
By Anneka Williams (November 18, 2025)
When I moved to Salt Lake City about three years ago, one of the first things that struck me about the community was how deeply locals care about the place we’ve all chosen to call home. Like so many before me, I was pulled to Utah by the allure of deep powder, accessible mountains, and a strong culture of winter recreation culture. But these same qualities which unite so many of us, also confer an increased responsibility to appropriately steward the mountains so many of us love. So, as I’ve cut my teeth as a skier on iconic local ski lines like Coalpit Headwall, Zeus Chute, the South Face of Superior, and Benson and Hedges, I’ve also become a part of the conversations around how to best manage the mass influx of people trying to recreate in the Central Wasatch, how to protect the canyon watersheds that Salt Lake City relies on, and how to appropriately shape the future of these canyons for all users.
As winter recreation continues to grow, the Central Wasatch is increasingly navigating pressures around how to meet the growing demand for recreation, while continuing to preserve healthy natural ecosystems and local character. The Town of Brighton, located in upper Big Cottonwood Canyon, recently had a powerful opportunity to help codify an approach to finding this balance.
Last week, the Town of Brighton passed ordinance OAM2025-001431. The ordinance accomplishes a number of different goals that are important for conservationists and recreationists:
- First, it clarifies and accurately maps ski resort boundaries within Brighton town limits and only permits future growth within those margins. This gives the Town of Brighton a process whereby they have to accept or deny proposed ski resort expansion activities, making it much harder for Solitude Mountain Resort or Brighton Ski Area to move forward with development projects without explicitly engaging the Town of Brighton.
- Second, the ordinance removes a carve out in the previous town code that allows resorts to build commercial developments in forestry zones. So, now Brighton Ski Resort and Solitude Mountain Resort cannot commercially develop forestry zones, which will help preserve natural landscapes and existing backcountry recreation.
- Third, the ordinance gives the Town of Brighton a much bigger voice in how land should be used in upper Big Cottonwood Canyon. This will more fairly balance the interests of local residents with the interests of the resorts and creates a clear public process where other organizations (like Wasatch Backcountry Alliance, Save Our Canyons, Winter Wildlands, and individual recreationists and conservationists) and individuals can participate in meetings about the future of upper Big Cottonwood Canyon.
The Town of Brighton took a lot of initiative with this process and was incredibly thorough in exploring the best ways to balance growth and economic development with the health of their community and the surrounding ecosystem. The now-passed ordinance better aligns town code with the Brighton General Plan and creates a tool whereby the Town can more effectively reach its goals, including preserving open lands, restoring resilient and healthy forests through land use regulations, and promoting the safety of people, wildlife, water, and natural landscapes.
To me, the passage of this ordinance is a testament to the importance and power of hyperlocal engagement. While the Town of Brighton is small, the impacts of this ordinance are sweeping. It limits the ability of resorts to take on projects that would connect upper Big Cottonwood Canyon to Park City via ski lifts as well as limiting the Solitude Mountain Resorts proposed parking lot. On the ground, groups like Wasatch Backcountry Alliance and Save Our Canyons were diligently engaged with this process from the outset, tracking updates, submitting public comments, and helping the public find ways to engage. Over the last several months, I coordinated with both organizations to support their on-the-ground efforts, submit comments on behalf of Winter Wildlands Alliance, and educate the public about the importance of this decision (listen to our recent podcast here!). Across various meetings and stages of the ordinance, hundreds of comments were submitted, mostly by individuals.
As the Policy Director for Winter Wildlands Alliance, I have the opportunity to work with groups across the country to help protect the places they love. It is an immense joy to see the success of local advocacy firsthand. And, as a Utah resident, I am deeply grateful to the Town of Brighton for bringing so many voices to the table when shaping the future of upper Big Cottonwood Canyon and to grassroots groups like Wasatch Backcountry Alliance and Save Our Canyons for helping galvanize public participation throughout this process.
Anneka Williams
Policy Director
awilliams@winterwildlands.org
