Bryce Canyon National Park has approved a plan to install a 60-foot tall cell tower disguised as a pine tree (right oval) on Science Hill in the park/NPS file
A 60-foot cell tower will be coming to Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah, once the park staff and the telecommunications companies agree on the fees to be paid the park.
The decision comes in an environmental assessment conducted on a request from Verizon Wireless, South Central Utah Telephone Association, and Garkane Energy Cooperative for the installation of a cellular telecommunications tower, fiber optic utility, and electric utility rights-of-way, respectively.
It's believed the tower will improve cell service for park visitors and staff in developed areas of Bryce Canyon. The tower antennas "would be directed away from recommended wilderness as much as possible to minimize the extent of new cellular signals entering recommended wilderness."
Construction of the cell tower, fiber optic utility and electric utility will not begin until the right-of-way permits are finalized. The next step will be to complete an appraisal to determine the annual use and occupancy fee Verizon would be required to pay to the NPS, which can take up to six months. Once that is complete and construction begins, it will take roughly 90 days to install the new infrastructure. The tower will be built near existing infrastructure including water tanks and NPS radio towers.
Comments
I presume the fees paid by the benefitting carriers are fair market value (similar to private land leases) not corporate welfare discounts like grazing allotments or extractive royalties. The precident should be investigated for the antenna complexes on Mt Washburn in Yellowstone and on Signal Mountain in Grand Teton national parks. There was no mention of said fees for those two NPS facility approvals.