Spring water and freshwater wells originate from the area, according to Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi, and serve as a municipal water source for the city. 

Provo is considering placing a conservation easement on a section of South Fork Canyon — called Bunnell’s Fork — to “double protect” the land and ensure the water quality and open space are preserved, Kaufusi said.

“It’s not about me, it’s not about my kids, my grandkids. It’s about my grandkids’ great-grandkids. We want to be able to retain this beauty forever and ever,” Kaufusi said. “And the only way to do it is to put easements on it. And this was one that we worked for years on to figure out how to do it. So this is a big victory for us.”

An open house was held Saturday at South Fork Park to discuss the proposal. The easement would be held by Utah Open Lands, while Provo City would remain the owner and operator of Bunnell’s Fork. The Provo City Council will vote in December on whether to approve the easement.

Conserve Utah Valley Executive Director Kaye Nelson said the process was a “long time coming” that started four and a half years ago, when Provo City Council member George Handley told Conserve Utah Valley that the city had parcels up Provo Canyon that needed easements.

Nelson said CUV, Kaufusi, Provo city employees, Utah Open Lands Executive Director Wendy Fisher and her team partnered to put the easement together.

“We just had some concerns that maybe with Sundance not too far away, people would look at this canyon and say, ‘Oh, development should happen in this canyon,'” Nelson said. “It’s like Wendy Fisher said: ‘We’re not making any more land. That’s it. And if we don’t save it, then it’s gone.'”

Nelson said many people don’t know about South Fork Canyon, which is roughly six miles up Provo Canyon and accessible at the Vivian Park turnoff.

As part of Saturday’s open house, CUV member Merritt Norton led a group hike up Bunnell’s Fork Trail, a 5.6-mile round-trip route accessible by hiking or horseback, with about 2,297 feet of elevation gain.

“A lot of people don’t know about it,” Nelson said. “Provo owns South Fork Park up here, Big Springs Park farther up, and there are these different parcels up here. Bunnell’s Fork is just this amazing hike that goes up into this canyon that’s pristine, natural and beautiful.”