Some would pay to protect Rock Canyon

PROVO — Utah County residents would ante up cash to forestall further excavation of quartzite in Rock Canyon, according to a recent survey conducted by four graduate students.

The residents do not want to be taxed for it, and they want a private landowner to leave the quartzite in the part of the canyon he owns.

"The correlation between willingness to pay and the attitude toward the excavation was not surprising to us," said Spencer Burton, one of the Brigham Young University students.

"If residents were opposed to the removal of rock from the canyon, they were more willing to pay an amount of money. We did not find a correlation, however, with their willingness to pay more in taxes or to allow the use of public funds," Burton said.

Of the 384 respondents, 64 percent said they would pay $10 each to preserve the canyon.

Students Mandi Cooper, Hutch Fale, Chad Tustison and Burton said if all those surveyed really put cash on the table, an amount between $1,449,038 and $2,641,202 could be collected.

The four needed to research an issue for a public administration class and chose the Rock Canyon controversy because they found it interesting and more relevant than project possibilities out-of-state.

Richard Davis, the owner of the area involved, said he is impressed that the survey showed the public is interested in a purchase. "Where they're wanting to buy it, that's fair," Davis said Tuesday.

However, he wants to sell the 83 acres as a whole and not just the piece between the Provo city and U.S.Forest Service boundary lines. He has asked Provo city to agree to hiring two independent appraisers to calculate the fair market value of the land and said he will sell it for that price.

Provo Mayor Lewis Billings is on record as saying Davis wants too much for the land.

Davis said Provo had the same chance he did five years ago to buy the land and seize the opportunity to make an investment. He denies trying to force them to buy his land.

"I can't force them to buy anything. I can keep the property. I have multiple uses for it," he said.

In the meantime, Davis believes he is doing the public a favor to allow free access onto his property.

"They're there at my graces, and I'm still being graceful to them," Davis said.