| This kiosk which is available for use in the Museum of the San Rafael is similar to what will be installed at strategic places throughout the county to provide real time information to visitors as well as locals. |
Emery Water Conservancy District has recently been awarded a grant through the Department of Commerce to alleviate some conflicts of public land use. The proposal calls for the installation of informational kiosks to be located at strategic points on public lands where users can access real-time information about the area and its use.
On June 11, the conservancy district hosted an information gathering meeting at the Museum of the San Rafael. All public land users groups were invited to attend. Representatives from the state parks, bureau of reclamation, the forest service, private enterprise, OHV users, law enforcement and local government were in attendance.
Jay Mark Humphrey, from EWCD introduced Mark Tibbetts, from Cronin Communication Consultants, who is the evaluator the grant. Tibbetts explained the concept of the kiosks. One main kiosk will be placed in the Museum of the San Rafael with as much real-time information about Emery County and its public lands as possible. Other smaller kiosks will be located around the county at strategic points of public interest.
“The purpose of the meeting,” Tibbetts explained, “is to incorporate information from all aspects of life in Emery County. We need to include any information a visitor to this area might need.”
Sydney Jacques facilitated the meeting and recorded all the topics and ideas from those present. Some of the questions she asked were: What are the positive attributes of outdoor recreation in Emery County? If you could change something about outdoor recreation in Emery County, what would it be? How do you and your people prepare and plan for your experience in Emery County? What are the land use conflicts? Where do we go for help?
Many useful and helpful suggestions were gathered at the meeting. The information will be compiled into one presentation to be implemented into the kiosk design. With numerous user groups using the resources in Emery County, more real-time, and current information is needed for their recreational experience. Much of the information will also be available on the conservancy district website, www.ewcd.org.
The types of information that will be available on the kiosk sites will be current weather information, stream flow data, trail closures, emergency services, community activities and local services. Also mentioned were avalanche and fire dangers, maps, special events and seasonal information.
These kiosks will be designed to alleviate some of the conflicts on public lands such as difficulty of the trails, shared access scheduling, educate visitors about the area and inform other users of the areas current use. Many of those present at the meeting said that if such a service were available, they would use it almost daily. All concerned are eager to see this educational tool available to the public. Humphrey is encouraging the public to respond and let him know the kinds of information they would like to see made available on these kiosks. Contact him at the district office at 381-2311 for input.