SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Utah state lawmakers approved the creation of two new state parks on Thursday.
The new Utahraptor State Park will be located in the Dalton Wells area in Grand County near a huge deposit of dinosaur bones in the eastern part of the state. The park will be named after the state dinosaur.
And the Lost Creek Reservoir in Morgan County will be renamed the Lost Creek State Park.
The bill was passed 63-9 in the House. The state will designate $36.5 million for the two state parks. The legislation now heads to Republican Gov. Spencer Cox’s desk for signing.
Supporters of the creation of the Utahraptor State Park hope the government will preserve fossils that are currently being stolen from the area, KSTU-TV reported.
The Utahraptor State Park would be located about 15 miles (about 24 kilometers) northwest of Moab and would comprise of 6,500 acres (about 26 square kilometers) of land, trails of every kind and campgrounds.
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