The Bureau of Land Management has added 775 acres to Goblin Valley State Park in south central Utah, the bureau announced this week.
The newly acquired lands are adjacent to the existing northern and western boundaries of the park, between Green River and Hanksville along U-24. The new acreage includes Wild Horse Butte at the entrance of the park.The 775 acres had been leased by the BLM to State Parks since 1984 to be managed as part of Goblin Valley State Park.
"The newly acquired land will be used to reroute the entrance into the park," said Courtland Nelson, Utah State Parks director. "We also plan on adding more camping sites and hiking trails to meet the ever-increasing demand of recreationists in the area."
Dick Manus, manager of the BLM Price Field Office, said 15,000 acres have been granted to Utah to help create 16 state parks in the past 30 years.
"This includes such wonderful places as Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park and Kodachrome State park in southern Utah, Wasatch Mountain State Park near Heber and Bear Lake State Park," Manus said.
Other parks that have received BLM land grants include Danger Cave, Dead Horse Point, Goosenecks, Gunlock Lake, Minersville Reservoir, Otter Creek, This is the Place, Snow Canyon, Millsite and Escalante state parks.