Score one for the little guys - needles outpost

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So I got to reading back through an old post today (the lockhart series) and I came across the bit in there about the small plot of land outside of the needles district of canyonlands national park called the needles outpost.

here is a recap

Illustration for article titled Score one for the little guys - needles outpost

“Leased to couple in 1997 it was turned into a commercial property but that broke down, so they rebuilt it and made it better! That was washed away in a flash flood, so they rebuilt it again, and the third one stayed up! Even still the land owners quadrupled the rent and its speculated they were trying to railroad the couple out, who by now had become legendary disagreeable people -Almost anyone who spoke of the needles outpost before now spoke of a mean old woman berating them on the phone or in person, in fact the couple was later involved in a string of minor crimes including throwing a roll of quarters as someone and throwing rocks through windows. Well intentioned they may have been, however, the state won out and as of now they are out and a temporary Moab based company is running the show until this august when the land will be sold off at a public auction where the reserve price has been set at one million. Their story really is fascinating and I urge you to read a little about it here and about the likely buyers, a land grabbing real estate speculator under the guise of agriculture here.

My thoughts on Utah and the sale of public lands is well documented so I wont go into it here, but I should say Im just glad they can’t have the needles, or Lockhart.”

So as i read it I realize I never checked back on the state of the land. I’m happy to report what I’ve found.

It sold to a group called The Nature Conservancy which as you could suggest is not interested in development or land extortion.

“He said his client intends to put a conservation easement on the land or donate it to The Nature Conservancy, which owns the Dugout Ranch nearby at Indian Creek.”

WOO HOO! What a great world sometimes. Thanks Jennifer Speers!