Show yr m rrr mWm9m9mp r r" Fyfny ' Sunday November 5 1995 11A Standard-Examin- er what does hard release’ mean? And Rep Jim Hansen’s Utah Public Lands Management of 1995 contains several unique provisions that would h pass the generally strict provisions of the 1964 Wilderness Act The bill would allow for the construction of reservoirs A t I water conservation works transmission lmes and roads in four proposed wilderness areas of southwestern Utah The areas Parunuweap Canyon Cougar Canyon Red - - Mountain and Canaan Mountain are within reach of St George and the growing communities of Washington Cbunty One section of the bill specifies that livestock grazing “ hall continue and not be curtailed” face that seems to fall in line with the long-es-t- a its On blished precedent of allowing livestock grazing m wilderness areas but the bill’s opponents say it’s phrased in such a way that it seems to prohibit BLM range managers from active management of grazing leases Federal land agencies commonly reduce livestock nums the length of during times of deteriorate conditions the when or range drought The bill would allow the “maintenance repair or ex-- p msion of communication sites” in parts of four wilder-- j !SS areas - Swasey Mountain in the San Rafael Swell F fty Mile Mountain in the Escalante River area Mount E Ien in the Henry Mountains and the Deep Creek border Mountains on the “hard Most significant perhaps is the language in the bill This refers to the future man-- an ement of BLM lands that are not designated as wilder-:ss Under hard release those areas could not be e ci nsidered in any future wilderness bills Under “soft the to been has legislation ase” which applied usually h tids not set aside as wilderness may still be considered ij future legislation The 1984 Utah Wilderness Act which set aside about 7i5000 acres of National Forest land as wilderness areas Ser-c- e li eluded soft release language No additional Forest wilderness areas have been created in Utah since 1$84 however -- Jim Wright i bers or grazing-season- Utah-Neva- da e” ed re-l- on all I have ideas plateaus and canyons in the Kaiparowrts Plateau region west of are mostly left out of the proposal The Kaiparowrts Pla-a- u haf long been coveted by energy companies because of its deposits but environmentalists contend much of the area as litflfnineral potential and should be set aside as wilderness The fisher Towers area along the Colorado River north of Moab as not ncluded in the bill The ake PtSteH sub-aitelfc-al loltz would add 336000 acres Vale dditior er arrrt irandC he wo n State land 3880447 acres -- -- ED National forest 8045874 acres 74 private land 12581080 acres 23 8 Public land (BLM) 22074731 acres ED National parks -- has promised to support Hansen’s Waldholtz acres of land is added to it Her amendment would include d acreage on several areas already in Hansen's bill She said ndment would increase the size of wilderness areas in the ulch Desolation' Canyon Book Cliffs and San Rafael Swell ild also add Fish Owl and Road canyons on the Cedar Mesa bill Rep Enid 336 K MICHAEL GOODWINStandard-Examine- r Key to land ownership ED -- E3 41 9 & monuments Military reservation -- -- ED Indian land 2283953 acres - 4 3 15 3 1950221 acres 1778958 acres -- -- 37 34 ED Wildlife refuge ED Lakes & 101 696 acres -- 02 reservoirs D How our wilderness land is used eawE st of Blandmg )rto favors conservation areas 1 side cres 1 o Dnsers istncti - said he will introduce a bill that would set acres of “core" wilderness and another 31 million National Conservation Areas Orton said he favors national anon area designation for much of the BLM land because the ns of the Wilderness Act may actually be inappropriate in Rep Bill 1 Orton million A- - xt TV--r -- smec ises tv lands of the Cedar Mesa area for example are best rums and archaeological their abundance of said wilderness designation would provide some protection v-i- pf The vild Town Dr tes i H w resources but that they could be better managed and proNational Conservation Area ” ved i nder a Otto sad his bill would create six NCAs in Southern Utah Three -ie Sar Rafael Swell Escalante canyons and the slickrock canyons Moab - would be managed pnmanly for recreational values g bison herd and the he He iry Mountans home to a rare ook C rffs would be managed for wildlife The Cedar Mesa would be numerous ianag d pnmanly to protect cultural resources notably the nasaz ruins that dot the canyons -- Jim Wright V 44 iHv l v ir thes i “tailor-made- 1 — - - A- -i t- - free-rangin- s if- - - ‘‘V v bi - ft- rfiliWW Hidden Splendor Old miners’ shacks stand at the site of the mine In Muddy Creek Canyon Many roads In San Rafael Swell were originally created during the 1950s’ uranium boom once-prospero- us the National ncil A San ns asked them to get “outside agitators” tent of Utah lands is t said “This is not a lsentodthe Utah hat is not the way Hansen and Republican Rep Enid g Waldholtz countered with a effort of their own In early October they wrote letters to colleagues that said there has been a lot of “propaganda” about the bill It also said Gov Mike Leavitt and Utah’s legislative leadership are supportive letter-writin- Wild cactus blooms in the Utah desert V Little guys too Intertwined with all of this are some names like Philhp Bimstem and Louise Liston They are getting some national attention too “Oh man are people interested” Bimstem said naming the media who have visited Springdale town Bimstem is mayor of the He Park National Zion just outside supports more wilderness Both he and Liston also traveled to the bill Washington D C to testify about for commissioner Liston a Garfield County Utah central county a in fives nine years wilderness that wanted next-to-n- o Wilderness types don’t bnng in money she said They stay in tents rather than motels behind she said get lost and leave garbage Rather she Dan met hasn’t Liston While did share her Escalante ranch for a few USA Weekend a days with a reporter from into inserted syndicated magazine nationwide newspapers As for Bimstem he never imagined part of his job would be chatting with The Times Washington Post The New York his on answering has left messages machine He’s been quoted in Newsweek and USA Today and interviewed for the News USA Weekend and CBS Evening more and more “It’s getting reports national attention as well it should Tnese lands belong to all American citizens Utah sits on the oil’s itter sent rs d is just a big name tah resident or even he aid Redford nee Resort now Utah to others Redford said he focused on the onal tttacks She did himself a Utahn In sdford said he feels t enough land and of mming and other I nly recognizable to the opposition Williams and shed a book of 22 Writers from icemed about the d lands iVft - not-so-b- ig 4 £ N y 'i - thotos by Susan Latham 400-pers- f- - -- - 4'Iti- -' Utah’s wilderness areas bring people from all over the country and the world New Yorker Tom Thorsch Krader climbs a large boulder in Muddy Creek Canyon jft" Yc Y v b V Standard-Examine- &' tjr0 - " Ranchers and environmentalists have been arguing over the use of range land in the debate over wilderness designation — — ir'-- - — — r-- -1 f — —-- T — J fJ A r |