Summit County ranchers and other collaborators are working to restore ecosystem health of the land through regenerative grazing and are looking to bring the community into these efforts through the creation of the Mid-Mountain Connector Trail.
McKinley Smoot is a rancher and the owner of Three Springs Land and Livestock in Kamas, as well as an educator for the Savory Institute. Smoot’s focus at Three Springs is to work the lands using a whole-ecosystem, regenerative grazing approach.
“Essentially it's using herbivory, usually in the form of livestock, to mimic ancient animal patterns where grazing ruminants, who co-evolved with grasses and also co-evolved with pack hunting predator pressure, maintain grassland environments, especially where they're highly brittle," said Smoot. "And so regenerative grazing is usually you institute livestock to improve wildlife and human habitat, because those ecosystems and environments are not fully functioning due to human man made interventions.”
In environments that are very arid — or as Smoot calls them, brittle — the ecosystem relies heavily on the rumens of animals. The intent with regenerative grazing is to incorporate grazing for the health of the land while managing it as to not overgraze areas.
Maryssa Fenwick is a land trust associate with Utah Open Lands, a nonprofit organization working with Three Springs to implement regenerative grazing management.
“So working with nature, store, soil health, biodiversity, water retention, so for utopian land, specifically that aligns with our mission to protect the working landscapes and support the landowners, the ranchers on these lands," said Fenwick.
"So stewarding the land in an ecologically and, in this case, also economically sustainable way, the better we take care of the land, the better forage it produces, the healthier the cattle, it goes on and on."
In 2024 Utah Open Lands received a 344 acres donation of pasture lands from Hi Ute Ranch to construct a trail called the Mid-Mountain Connector Trail, a collaborative effort between many Summit County stakeholders to bring a non-motorized, multi-use trail to the community that also provides a view shed.
“Open space dollars did help to put the conservation easement on the properties," said Fenwick "And so providing that scenic view for the public is one and then two, the educational component, that's a huge part of how you ranch for both three springs and Utah open lands, and being the future stewardship hub for us. And so being able to educate users on trail etiquette, keeping your dog on leash, the interconnectedness between the public Trail and the ranchers on the property and the wildlife habitat.'
Smoot hopes the trail’s location, overlooking regenerative grazing ranchlands, will help spur conversation about the work they are doing and bring educational opportunities to the community regarding whole ecosystem health and management.
“Being able to have people interact with the land is desperately needed from a societal and mental health standpoint. And we hope that sparks conversation and attracts people to like, hey, what's going on, and hopefully helps people want to become, or at least be curious about becoming ecologically literate.”
The trail will link Deer Valley to Kimball Junction. Construction on the mid-mountain connector trail is set to begin on July 1st with plans to finish by fall 2026.
