Gary Bowen didn't want trails running through his neighborhood.

He thought the trails would lure wild teens to party in the mountains above his home or invite campers to leave fires burning unattended that could ignite a wildfire up Emigration Canyon.

So Bowen took a stand. He was the lone vote against the idea of the Emigration Canyon Trails Master Plan a few years ago.

Fast-forward to 2006 — now Bowen has had a change of heart. The Emigration Canyon Community Council member is behind the trail plan after years of compromise.

"My attitude is I hate to see the canyon developed, but it's going to be developed, and I'd like to have a say in that," Bowen said.

The Emigration Township Planning Commission approved the trail plan Thursday, but not before adding a few things to the Community Council's recommendations. The trail plan must gain approval from the Salt Lake County Council before anything else can happen.

The trails would connect the Bonneville Shoreline Trail with the Great Western Trail, the Donner Reed Trail, the Pony Express Trail and the Mormon Pioneer Trail.

Exact details on trail alignments have been batted around for years. The political back-and-forth continued Thursday, as planning commissioners added a few more legs to the trail plan.

The proposed trail plan includes a trail from Perkins Flat to the top of Emigration Canyon on the south side. Bowen said several residents of Emigration Oaks were against some legs of the trail because hikers and bikers might cross private land to access the trail, but are now behind the plan after a compromise that the proposed north-side trail would remain a quarter-mile away from the neighborhood.

Newly added trail legs include one in Charlie's Canyon that would connect Pinecrest with the saddle at the top of Kilyon's Canyon, as well as a ridgeline trail on the north slope of the canyon between Red Butte and Emigration, said Joe Smolka, former chairman and current member of the Emigration Canyon Community Council.

"We tried to reach a compromise that will work for everybody," said Smolka. "Hopefully this will satisfy everyone."

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E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com