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Show Community Comments 1975 estimated fire loss in Moab Valley: $285,745. 1976 estimated fire loss in Moab Valley: $126,000. 1977 estimated fire loss in Moab Valley: $ 62,000. There is, of course, a large element of coincidence in any list of statistical figures like the one I've outlined above. But there's no denying that the Moab Volunteer Fire Department is the greatest factor in the reduction of damage in Moab Valley due to fire. A few years ago, when it was decided to up the tax levy for fire protection; form a special fire control district; hire a full-time fire chief and begin an intensive training program for the local volunteers; the people of Moab Valley made a wise choice. Those things were done, and at the same time the department began upgrading and adding to the equipment and fire fighting units available here. And they now say that they have just begun. A new training program is going to get underway soon, and the department is making plans to construct a new fire station in Spanish Valley that would be equipped and manned when completed. The 45 dedicated volunteers are the big factor, however, and their enthusiasm for their work is hard to believe. If taxpayers in Moab Valley were to hire a full-time complement of fire fighters to replace the volunteers now on the job, it would cost over a quarter of a million dollars per year, if we used salary scales being paid in larger communities in the state which have full-time departments. The gift of time and dedication to their volunteer task is proven by statistics as being a successful effort. The department deserves all the thanks and appreciation a community can muster. -sjt- BLM District Manager Gene Day observed at Chamber of Commerce meeting Tuesday that the park at Big Bend on the Colorado River has been closed to vehicles because the area has suffered too much people damage over the past few years. Almost in the same breath, he described, in glowing terms backed up by schematic drawings and color slides, a plan to develop a parkway from Colorado National Monument into Utah and along the Colorado to Potash, which he projects, and I'm sure he's correct, would bring a whole lot more tourists along the route. The question then arises in some minds whether the fragile river canyon if it really is so fragile can stand the impact of the thundering hordes. Even if a bunch more camping sites are developed along the riverside, as Gene envisions, one wonders if such people impact would not also lead to their closure eventually. The project is intriguing, and has a good deal of merit. A little more thought needs to go into it, however, plus some direct contact work with other state and federal agencies whose land and property is along the route, and particularly with the private land-holders who live along Utah Highway 128. |