September 29, 2016 - 3:12 PM
MOAB, Utah - New trailhead signs with a less controversial name for eastern Utah's Negro Bill Canyon have been stolen.
The Deseret News reports (http://bit.ly/2ddAMg3 ) that the Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Lisa Bryant said Thursday two signs with the name, "Grandstaff Trailhead" were stolen sometime Wednesday night. She says the theft considered is a felony.
The signs were replaced last weekend in the popular recreation area even though local officials have decided not to change the official name.
Negro Bill Canyon was named after a black cowboy, William Grandstaff, whose cattle grazed there in the 1870s.
The canyon's name has long been debated. Grand County voted in August 2015 to keep the canyon's name. A similar effort to change the canyon's name was defeated in 2013.
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Information from: Deseret News, http://www.deseretnews.com
News from © The Associated Press, 2016