OCR Text |
Show PAGE 22 THE ZEPHYRIUNE 1994 The Canyon Country WATCHDOG By Scott Groene Home For the Humpback. Effective April 20, 1994, the Uix Fish and Wildlife Service designated 1,980 miles of the Green, Colorado, and San Juan Rivers as critical habitat for four endangered fish species, the Razor Back Sucker, Colorado Squawfish, Humpback Chub, and Bony tail chub. Critical habitat is essential to the species survival and may require special management The designation resulted from litigation filed by the Sierra Qub Legal Defense Fund on behalf of several groups, including SUWA. , Tower in die La Sals The Forest Service is considering a proposal to build a 190 foot tall radio tower cm die ridge above Warner Hat above the campground. For more information, or to provide comments, call District Ranger Jerry Shaw, 259-715- 5. clatter of V--8 engines. There must be nine places where we can find silence rather than the million force hundred thousand and twelve places to ride in jeeps or on motorcycles. Let us leave a few places quiet f And noise impacts wildlife as well as humans. Researchers have made numerous sightings of aircraft disturbing raptors, and peregrine falcons may lose eggs from this disruption. sometimes seen by the Although some Bighorn Sheep become habituated to humans (Le. those old Atlas Mill) NPS staff have documented aerial impacts on the sheep, with helicopters causing the greatest impact Without a doubt ORV's are damaging the Park. As foe Park Service has written, studies show ORVs compact soil, increase runoff and the severity of floods. ORV use in Salt Creek eliminates riparian vegetation which otherwise would support habitat for small mammals and birds. ORVs in foe stream increase turbidity and stream load, interrupting the photosynthetic 1993 cyde for aquatic plants. ORVs pollute water sources with transmission and engine fluids (in three vehides lost their entire crankcase contents in Peekaboo spring). ORVs also cause management problems: vehides get stuck and require assistance. Hank also argues that if we get rid of ORVs, that niche will be filled with hoards of defecating, trampling hikers. The fallacy here is that the choice is either a. We need to manage both uses. SUWA supports NPS proposed dosures to hikers, whether by use zones, group sizes re dosure if necessary to protect critical wildlife habitat or relict plant communities. Hank seems to have become an overnight advocate for those with physical limitations. I am always surprised to hear arguments that there must be motorized access to the furthest reaches of foe back country from a speaker who lives in a town where foe buildings are not wheelchair Buy out for those Who Want Out On March 30, President Clinton signed legislation which authorized federal agencies to offer employees a $25,000 bonus as an inducement to retire. Hie Forest Service received 2,300 applications, had authority for 2000, and received a waiver which allowed 2,265 to call it quits. The BLM had 258 authorizations- - with 521 wanting to quit according to the Public Lands News. Some of us were excited about the removal of long term employees unwilling to learn knew tricks, however. I've heard the Park Service has been hurt as positions have not been filled. Groene is not looking himself these days because: A) He's trying to get in touch with his primordial past B) Being called Tond Scum' is beginning to have an effect on him. O Rose Fryer revealed her true feelings for Scott and kissed him on foe lips. D) All of the above. Missile Update Representative Karen Shepherd has thrown a monkey wrench in the Army's plans to bomb southeastern Utah with booster rockets as it fires missiles from Green River to White Sands Missile base in New Mexico. Ms. Shepherd just introduced legislation prohibiting the Army from dropping booster rockets outside of existing military ranges. Hie military is delaying release of its final EIS until this fall because of problems with proposed drop zones in Utah and New Mexico (Blanks to those who attended the Moab hearings and reassured the Army these drop zones would be troublesome). Hie Army says it will propose alternative zones: watch to see if they now try to dump this mess on the Navajo Nation (already several Navajo Chapters, the Zuni and Acoma Pueblos and the Cibola County Commissioners in New Mexico have passed resolutions against the testing, according to the Zuni Mountain Coalition). NASA has since proposed the Army use aircraft to fire the missiles, which would eliminate the necessity for dropping missile junk on our public lands. To write your Representative and Senator to ask for support for Ms. Shepherd's efforts: Senator Representative U.S. House of Representative; U.S. Senate Washington, D.C 20515 Washington, D.C 20510 I also take issue with Hank's argument that it is egalitarian to reserve areas for ORV users over hikers. Fa example, he complains that NPS wants to dose .75 miles of the Murphy Point trail to ORVs. This dosure would create the only badcpack camping spot accessible from the Island top which does not require the steep hike down the Windgate Sandstone, making the area accessible to hikers unable to walk longer distances at aver rougher ground. Count how many people own shoes. Now count how many Americans own a 4 whed drive capable of getting ova Elephant Hill. Why is it somehow more selfish to leave areas fa all those folks who have shoes, young and old, ratha than the very few that can afford the luxury of an ORV? Hank suggests that my strategy is to get Salt Creek dosed to ORVs this time, and then Davis, Lavender and the Maze dosed next time. Actually, I intend to get all these places dosed in this plan, now, and to use every legal means to accomplish that goal This would still leave about 130 miles of 4WD routes open in the planning area. Finally, Hank advises readers to "growl at the Watchdog very chance you get Won't do much good Hank. The death threats dropped off pretty quick afta I opened the SUWA Moab office force years ago, I suppose because the anonymous chickenlips responsible realized it wasn't doing much good. Perhaps when Hank wrote he was not aware that the Park Service has received threats of physical violence from ORV users who want their playgrounds left open. I'm sure Hank will agree with me that the Park Service deserves betta, even if I don't -- Trust Us. Hie military has down played the safety risks involved with firing missiles from Green River, and who wouldn't trust the Army? It might be noted that in March it came to light that last fell outside of the Air Force's January a laser guided GBU-1- 2 bomb, launched from a Box in Elder on Utah, land, bombing rang; landing County, public missing its intended target 3 miles. about by F-1- 6, Another Swell Reason For Mining Law Reform Yet In May, a Canadian Company, American Banick Resource, Inc, acquired title to 1,791 acres of public land in Nevada under the Mining Law of 1872 at a cost of $5 per acre. The mining company estimates that the land holds 8 to 10 Billion dollars of gold: the company paid the US. treasury a little less than $9,000 for the land and will not pay a cent in royalties to file public for the gold The Park Service intends to release a final Canyonlands National Piurks backcountry management plan next spring, and in the interim has implemented on an experimental basis overnight backpacking zones, to see what works. It appears NPS will delay the river corrida: plan, which would cover foe Green and Colorado Rivers, until the backcountry plan has been completed, although much of the backcountry crowding in the Maze is caused by hikers coming up from river trips. In last month's Zephyr, Hank Rutter laid out his arguments for leaving the drive routes open in Canyonlands National Park. This followed his earlier effort in a column to discredit a study documenting damage vehides (ORVs) have Salt foe Creek I causal to riparian area (I've never met Mr. Rutter, and hope he doesn't mind me In his enthusiasm Hank let his facts get a little crooked and when the first his name). using Ms piece they wrote the T--I to set those facts straight again. Well, of wind authors got study Hank got a little over enthusiastic again in his last Zephyr column. First off. Hank states that NPS Intends to convert the only drive road on the Island which in die Sky to a hiking trail," probably scared a few folks. Actually, NPS is not intending mountain bike and ORV trips to dose foe four wheel drive White Rim trail used for multi-da- y NPS intends to dose District .75 miles of the Instead, it at the bland Murphy Point road-that- 's Secretary Babbitt fiddles while foe west continues to get cow4mmb It's Called Grazing Reform, But It Ain't Secretary Babbitt has produced a proposed grazing reform proposal on behalf of the Clinton administration which is anotha disappointment which will protect foe status quo, ratha than resolve current grazing abuses. Fa example, Babbitt insists on giving control ova public lands to local planning groups which will be dominated by the livestock industry. These are national lands owned by all Unda foe new rules Americans, not just by the commodity interests located nearby. ranchers would still pay less than fair market value for grazing Babbitt's studies found that ranchers paid an average of $8.75 to keep a cow on private non-igated land in Utah, but the and that figure would not be phased Department of foe Interior proposes to only charge $3.96, in fully until 1997. Most troubling is that Babbitt's proposal does not include national standards for determining whetha not specific public lands are suitable for grazing Federal land managers should ask whetha public lands should be grazed at all, given the conflict between domestic livestock and archeology, recreation, wildlife, fish and dean wata. This proposal perpetuates foe assumption that all public lands should be grazed. There are some small improvements in foe proposed rules. No longa would ranchos be able to acquire foe title to water on public lands. Undo foe proposed rules foe public water will remain in public ownership. Also, no longa will those holding a grazing a permit have to graze . foe area, at lose foe permit, enabling groups ar individuals to voluntarily retire areas from The proposal also recognizes that foe public has a right to partidpate in grazing grazing management. The Department will hold hearings on this proposal at locations across the west on June 8, with hearing in Moab at Star Hall will run from 9 am to noon, 2 pm to 5 pm, and 7 pm to 10 pm. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt has already held a series of meetings at which extensive testimony was provided by both the livestod: industry and environmentalists. The Secretary heard there needs to be change and what needs to be done to make that change happen as to protect our public lands from foe overgrazing that pollutes streams, harms wildlife, damage archeology, and fouls canyons with manure and insects. With these June 8 hearings Secretary Babbitt fiddles while the west continues to get Action is needed, not more words, and as a result many western environmentalist will boycott foe upcoming meetings. Hank also argues that scenic flights ova the Park aren't an environmental issue, because they don't pollute the water or disturb the land. Weil, if I stood on Hank's door step with a boom box armed with a favorite Meri Haggard tune at 3 in the morning he might agree noise can be areal problem. Perhaps where Hwik and I disagree most is that I believe we must reserve some Moan District Manager sent to Fa foe second time in three years a BLM Moab District Managa has been relieved of his duties. Mr. Zortman has been reassigned to a Salt Lake City position, and no replacement has been named at this time. Try to Imagine Bill Orton . . . On portions of foe Navajo Reservation in southeastern Utah, foe Tribe owns foe surface lands, while the BLM retains control over the subsurface resources including oil and gas. This land division led to McWilliam Energy Company drilling on McCracken Mesa with a BLM drilling y permit, but without a permit from the Navajo Nation. On December 1, 1993, Navajo Nation delegate Andrew Tso tried to blockade foe oil company from drilling, relying on an Anefo Chapter moratorium against oil and gas development. The residents of the area have long complained that oil field development was causing water pollution. In March, the Navajo Nation Council voted to pay Tso's legal fees as he defends himself against legal action filed by the oil company arising out of foe December incident. right-of-wa- ni a Cmon Hank, Take a Walk on foe Wild Side. four-whe- el Hmes-Independe- nt off-ro- ad eel cow-bur- nt sll. |