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Show Project BOLD hearing receives local comment! About 30 persons attended the Vernal hearing Wednesday of last week to gain local statements and input on "Project BOLD", a plan to block -up state land tracts through trades with the federal government. The proposal, dubbed "Project BOLD," because it is a bold venture, is being conducted by the State Land Board, the Department of Natural Resources and Energy and the Division of State Lands and Forestry, directed by Governor Scott M. Matheson. Utah has 225,324 acres of selection rights outstanding in lieu school lands, that the state would obtain from the federal government for land taken from the state originally located in federal reservations, parks, and military installations. The basic purpose of Project BOLD is to improve the land management potential of both state and federal lands, to eliminate unnecessary federal, state conflicts generated by existing ownership patterns and to facilitate the management of state-owned state-owned lands by substantially reducing or realigning the scattered state sections sec-tions and creating new blocks of state land. A further objective, made possible by more sensible land ownership patterns, will be to substantially sub-stantially increase the financial return to the permanent school trust fund. Fourteen areas have been proposed for block -up. Only two areas involve the local area, but these two areas involve the largest proportion of the acreage. Area number 2 is the potential mineral, energy resources, and recreational development around Diamond Mountain in Eastern Daggett and Uintah Counties. The other area is the oil shale and tar sand land in Southern Uintah County. A statement from the Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce was read at the hearing by Dwight L. Wetenkamp, executive vice president whirl-'applaud whirl-'applaud the approa state lands into manageable' makes good sense to discomv current checkboard land d: tothjromastateandfede "In local situation, blocked allows an energy company tofr c resource economically with wT' c face disturbance. "Federal oil shale leases in ly I Colorado have been attractive : developers because of their sis'' sections have attracted the developers, but their operate" f been hampered by size and Kr-mits. Kr-mits. The sizeable revenue that e ' ' realized from oil shale deveh will enter the state's coffers L when blocking becomes a reafc s are well aware of the manyofe f vantages to the state's taxpayer" : result from blocking." T The Chamber statement si-supported si-supported the Uintah County C missioner's suggestions for prr improvement in the foilosing areas of local concern: 1. Allocate more of the Leasing Act funds back to the a; with large amounts of state lard 2. Recognize the need foraedpr the Department of Transporter funds to build and maintain re: and within the state lands. 3. Replace federal in-lieu pip with similar payments from ties-maintain ties-maintain Uintah County's cure:, balance. 4. Our last concern is the ch' made by the state for borrow, r-gravel r-gravel and permits pertaining S : roads constructed over state pri" The federal government dees charge for such sen-ices. Written comments will be as: on Project BOLD until Oct 20 |