If you drive into Kamas on State Route 248 or 200 South this fall, you'll see earth-moving equipment out in the meadow, along with technicians treating weeds. None of it is construction. Summit County is removing invasive grass, filling drainage ditches, and restoring wetland.
The work began in September on the Ure Ranch, the 835-acre property along the Kamas Valley entry corridor that the county bought in December 2025. The project also explains the order in which everything else on the ranch will happen, from the trails to the paved path many people have wanted along SR-32.
What the Equipment Is Actually Doing
The first phase covers about 3.5 acres near SR-248 and 200 South. It sits inside a larger 23.2-acre area the county has set aside for wetland restoration. TownLift reported that crews will remove invasive grasses, restore the natural flow of water, and reseed the disturbed ground with native wetland plants.
The main target is one plant. Jess Kirby of Summit County told The Park Record that reed canary grass, which isn't noxious but isn't native either, "took over the entire Kamas Meadows" and "does choke out a lot of the native species because it covers everything."
The ditches matter just as much. Kirby told the Park Record that the equipment is being used to fill ditches that had been draining the wetlands, as well as to pull out the grass and plant native species. She expected the trucks might worry people who don't know about the project.
The county's water-management reasoning runs against intuition, and Kirby addressed that head-on. "It's counterintuitive because it seems like we're holding back water, but we're holding it longer in the system so that it slowly trickles out," she told the Park Record. She added that wetlands improve water quality as well as quantity, because water filters through different layers of sediment.
Water rights next door are part of the plan. The county hired WestWater Research, an Idaho economics firm that focuses on water markets, to help protect neighboring properties' water rights as the work goes on. BIO-WEST, a Logan-based environmental consulting firm, is a partner on the restoration itself. The county's August 2026 lands newsletter says that as the wetland matures, it should hold water better, rebuild the meadow's peat soils, and support more native plants and wildlife. The county says it will monitor the site every year.
This won't look finished next spring. "It's going to be over the next five years," Kirby said in the same Park Record interview. "It's not instant, and stuff like this takes time to grow." She said cattle could possibly return for short bursts of "flash" grazing once the plants are established, but the land first needs "a couple years off."
Why a Wetland Comes Before a Bike Path
The restoration also has a practical purpose that goes back more than a year. Summit County has long wanted a paved multiuse path along the full length of SR-32, from Oakley to Francis. KPCW reported in September 2025 that the Oakley-to-Marion segment was done, but wetlands along the road were blocking the extension to Kamas.
The fix is called wetland mitigation. Paving a path through roadside wetland disturbs them, so the county offsets that by restoring and improving wetland somewhere else. The county's Council of Governments approved a mitigation plan on Sept. 16, 2025, and the Ure Ranch became the "somewhere else."
A county transportation memo from that time lays out the numbers:
- The SR-32 Trail Extension has three phases, II through IV. Phase II connects Marion to Kamas.
- The project had $2,988,500 in active transportation sales tax funds.
- $210,000 of that was set aside for Phase II wetland mitigation.
- The memo proposed dedicating 24 acres of Ure Ranch as a mitigation site.
The September 2026 restoration is work on that land. It doesn't mean construction on the path has resumed, and no start date for the Marion-to-Kamas segment has been announced. Seasonal limits apply too. KPCW noted that the county generally doesn't issue permits for work on or near roads after Oct. 15, except in emergencies, so it's unlikely any roadside paving will start this fall.
The wetland obstacle KPCW described in 2025 now has a mitigation site under restoration, and the ditches being filled near 200 South are on that land.
What the Rest of the Ranch Is Meant to Become
The wetland is one of several parcels, and each has its own job. The county's acquisition announcement splits the ranch this way:
| Parcel | Planned role |
|---|---|
| Ure North Meadows | Stays in agricultural production, likely sold or leased to a local producer |
| Ure Homestead | Working agricultural site, recreation hub, and county operations center supporting farming, education, equestrian programs, and extension outreach |
| Ure Recreation | Public trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding |
| Ure South Meadow and Ure Southeast Meadow | May stay agricultural, host limited recreation, or be sold or leased to a producer |
| The Swamp | Restored as a functioning wetland system, funded with county transit dollars |
The ranch cost $25 million, according to the Park Record. Funding came from several places: the voter-approved county open space bond, transient room tax dollars, the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Utah Outdoor Recreation Initiative, and a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service agricultural easement program for the North Meadows.
What can be built is narrow, and Kirby made that clear. She told the Park Record there are no development projects on the ranch, and the purchase agreement allows only a single-family home, an educational center, and recreational trails. Conservation easements back that up. Summit Land Conservancy holds the first one, on the North Meadows, and the county said more would be recorded on the other parcels.
On trails, the target is specific even though the map isn't public yet. A county request for proposals for trail planning called for at least 15 miles of trails in the Ure Recreation Area and set May 6, 2026, as the deadline for a Ure Ranch trail plan. The county's Ure Ranch page also says a grant for trailhead parking and trail design was awarded in November 2025. None of the county materials reviewed for this post includes a draft trail plan, a named consultant, or a construction schedule.
When the Gates Open
For now, the answer is not yet. The county's Ure Ranch page, last updated Sept. 14, 2026, says all 835 acres remain closed to the public while the county sets up management plans and recreation amenities, and that the property has an active grazing lease.
Here's how the dates line up:
- Dec. 15, 2025: Summit County and Summit Land Conservancy announce the purchase.
- May 6, 2026: Deadline in the county's planning request for a Ure Ranch trail plan.
- September 2026: Wetland restoration starts on the first 3.5 acres.
- Dec. 31, 2026: The ranch-wide agricultural lease to the Ure family ends, according to the county's February 2026 lands newsletter.
- Summer 2027: When Kirby has said she expects the ranch to open to the public, as the Park Record reported.
Summer 2027 is a forecast, not a confirmed opening date. The county hasn't published rules for dogs, parking, or hours, because nothing is open yet. In June the county said management planning was moving forward and that it would announce opportunities for public input. It's asking people to sign up for its Lands and Natural Resources newsletter to hear about public engagement, volunteer programs, and project updates.
Until then, the heavy equipment along SR-248 is restoration work. The next fixed date is Dec. 31, 2026, when the ranch-wide lease to the Ure family is scheduled to end.
At Bill Morton, we keep track of how county land decisions like Ure Ranch affect the Kamas Valley, from trail access to which parcels stay in farming. If you have questions about what the ranch's future means for property near the SR-248 and SR-32 corridors, Contact Us and we'll go through what's been decided and what's still pending.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
