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Show GSENM draft plan The Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Draft Plan for the GSENM was issued for public comment in November, with the public comment period extended to March 15. (BLM agreed to an extra 30 days after Kane and Garfield counties whined that they needed extra time to draft comments, even though the counties had the same amount of time as the rest of the nation, and had received several hundred thousand dollars of federal money to help them review and determine the effects of the Monument on their particular situations). To its credit, BLM's Preferred Alternative closes many miles of unnecessary trails and routes. However, it allows ATVs on many routes within the Monument. Past experience has proven that when ATVs are allowed on designated routes, the cross-country restrictions are disregarded and ATVs riders go off trail into restricted areas. The BLM has not been able to enforce its rules and restrictions or to effectively manage ATV use (example: Moquith Mountain WSA), and there is no reason to believe that the situation will be different in the Monument. The Presidential Proclamation that established the Monument clearly states that the resources of the Monument are to be protected, not managed for the convenience of visitors and users, and not managed in a way that “strikes a balance” of all interests. Protection must be the overriding objective of the final management plan. Conoco drilling in Long Canyon The BLM approved Conoco's Application for Permit to Drill (APD) an exploratory well on Conoco's Muley Creek federal lease, and Conoco began drilling activities the first week of February, just two weeks before the 10-year federal lease would have expired. The well is located in the Long Canyon unit of HR 1500, near the Burr Trail, about 13 miles north of Bullfrog. The panoramic view from the drill site includes the Waterpocket Fold in Capitol Reef National Park, Navajo Mountain, the Henry Mountains, the reservoir behind Glen Canyon Dam and countless canyons, mesas and ridges in between. The BLM acknowledges in its Environmental Assessment that the lease is situated in approximately $2 million annually for the past three years on its timber sales program — the Forest's main revenue program. The Forest Service reserved the right to issue a second SSERP decision on the roadless portions of the project at a later date. SUWA is continuing to advocate for critical preservation of the Hancock Roadless area, since less than 30% of the Dixie remains free of roads and other developments. Road rage The Dixie National Forest was on the right track in its recent proposal to close 210 miles (out of 312 miles) of old logging roads that are not being maintained, serve no purpose, and are degrading wildlife habitat and water quality in the Strawberry Creek and Swains Creek areas, by Duck Creek Village. Although the road closure proposal was solidly based on the need to protect resources, the Dixie has bowed to local pressure from ATV users, and has decided to delay the project. The road density in the area is 4.9 miles of road per square mile of land, nearly double the Dixie Forest Plan's mandate that road densities should not exceed 2 miles per square mile of wildlife habitat. Big game habitat is being degraded due to the high number of routes, and excessive amounts of fine sediment are entering streams as runoff from roads choking spawning gravels and making it difficult for eggs to survive and hatch. The Dixie is responsible for managing the forest lands to protect the resources, not for the convenience and self-interests of vocal ATV riders, who are currently allowed to use a disproportionate 75% of the 4600 miles of roads and trails within the forest. HONEST OZZIES It's Springtime and we know what that means... INCOMINGIIE It's still better than pneumonia. a very remote area near Capitol Reef National Park and other proposed wilderness areas, and that, indeed, the area “offers opportunities for solitude.” However, the agency inconceivably decided that this industrial activity, which includes dozens of semi-truck trips along the lower Burr Trail, drastic increases in noise levels, gas flaring, unrestricted night lighting, and around-the-clock drilling activities “will not result in significant adverse impacts to the human environment.” environment or cause unnecessary or undue degradation of the This new drilling permit smells suspiciously like another one of Conoco's thinly veiled attempts to compel the BLM to buy out Conoco's numerous and highly speculative leases in southern Utah. Roadless areas are preserved for a little The Dixie National Forest issued Rehabilitation Project (SSERP) in which Hancock Peak roadless area for the time while longer its decision in the South Spruce Ecosystem it decided to leave the forest standing in the being. The Dixie had originally proposed to cut 75 million board feet of wood, 25 million of which was slated to come out of the 7,200 acre Hancock Peak roadless and undeveloped area. The roadless area was threatened with chainsaws, roads, and a host of environmental impacts, all in the name of “economic recovery of forest products.” The SSERP proposal was all the more offensive as it was proposed in the face of a report from the U.S. General Accounting Office that disclosed that the Dixie had been losing THE REDROCK 6:3 BAKERY & CAFE 74 South Main Street Moab, Utah 84532 A Quality Bakery with Scottish-American Influence Retail ¢ Wholesale * Catering 435.259.5941 SUBSCRIBE TO THE ZEPHYR Details on page three ———"DOES HE OR DOESN'T HE?" It's the question we're all asking... Does Howard, the Scottish Baker wear shorts under his kilts? \ a \ YES! (State Health Regs require the wearing of underwear at all times) eau Nee eae iris Tae ue A ee Bh |