Grand Circle Adventure Could Bring 5 Million More Tourists Tourism is the largest industry in southern Utah. An effort is now underway which proponents claim will substantially increase that Industry. The concept is the Grand Circle Adventure. The Garfield County Commission has been working toward that end for years. The means to that end is paving the Boulder to Bullfrog Scenic Road. Ron Madsen, aide to Senator Orrin Hatch, spoke in Richfield last week about the project. He said completion of the Grand Circle Adventure could bring 5 million additional tourists to southern Utah every year. There is actually already a route which encompasses the Grand Circle. To travel on paved roads the tour is presently 1,400 miles. Paving the Boulder to Bullfrog Scenic Road would cut the route in half, Madsen said. Madsen said Garfield County will perhaps benefit more than any other area of the state, but that doesn't mean many other areas of the state won't also benefit, including Sevier, Wayne and Piute counties. The point is, Madsen said, an additional 5 million 'people--will have -about --5-million different ideas as to how they wish to spend their trip. That diversity will take people to many areas and all of southern Utah will benefit. Another benefit, Madsen said, is an alternative route for people to return to the Wasatch Front from Lake Powell. He said most people now proceed to Price, through Hanksville and on into Bullfrog Basin or Hite. They have travelled that route so many times, Madsen said, there is nothing new for them to do. Therefore, they simply drive directly through, stopping only for gas. The Boulder-Bullfrog Road would give people an option and allow them to cut across to U.S. 89, where there would be new and interesting attractions. The road would take people almost to the entrance of Bryce Canyon National Park. Madsen said promoting tourism in southern Utah is of paramount importance, especially since natural resource development in the area, has' continually been thwarted by government regulations. Steve Creamer, with Creamer and Noble Engineering from St. George, was also at the meeting. Creamer and Noble recently completed a feasibility study of the proposed road. A slide show was presented which portrayed the area as the widest geologic range of possibilities in the world. Creamer said tourism development is crucial to Garfield County. Average income in Utah is $17,000. In Garfield County it is only $12,000. Almost 93 percent of all the land in Garfield County is government owned. That land brings in no taxes. A side benefit of the road will be access to public services. When the present road becomes impassable, travel from Panguitch to the eastern portion of the county is 230 miles. Creamer said it would also help livestock people in the area and backcountry users.