The church has agreed to post visitation guidelines at the public access parking area, noting the cove "will be open to public use without discrimination for historical, educational and scenic purposes." The guidelines also say visitors "have the same rights regarding express as visitors to any other Department of Interior site that is open to the public."

The agreement also stipulates that the BLM will remove an interpretive panel — or eliminate the introductory language on the panel — on federal land in the cove that describes the survival of handcart pioneers and contains religious references. Several signs in and near the cove used to have both an LDS Church logo and a BLM logo, but the church's logo has been covered.

The BLM has also agreed to add an interpretive kiosk at the beginning of the public access trail that introduces visitors to the area, providing brochures that describe the significance of the area with the information "taken from historical sources."

"Both the separate entry and the removal of religious signs were essential if the public was to have any sense that this land is held in common by all Americans, regardless of religious belief," said Christopher Krupp, attorney at the Western Lands Project, an ACLU partner in reaching the agreement.

The agreement allows the ACLU to re-file its suit if the actions described therein "have not taken place, are no longer occurring, or are otherwise unsatisfactory."

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E-mail: carrie@desnews.com