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Show 2 UNEMPLOYMENT PERCENT OF LABOR FORCE UNEMPLOYED (Seasonally Adjusted) 1964 1977 11 1964 1965 RATE. UTAH AND THE U.S. 1966 1967 1968 Wilderness status could stifle Utah energy scene 1973 Skidef Area rcprcseits U.S. recissioi period as deterniHid bp Nitiooal Bureao of Economic Research. 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 Source: Utah Department ef Employment Secarity and tbe Birin at Labor Statistfci The wilds of Utah may be nice to look at and a lot of people may want to preserve them, but if millions of acres are designated for study as federally protected wilderness areas, energy development in the state may be in trouble. Three different federal agencies the Bureau of Land Management, the National Parks Jobless rate New & Used Office Furniture & Supplies lowest in eight years The unemployment rate in Utah continues to drop, with September registering the third consecutive monthly decline. According to Utah Job Service, the jobless rate last month fell to 5.2 percent, off from Augusts 5.3 per- cent, and a significant improvement over the 6 CUSTOM LOCATING New&Used Office Equipment Furniture & 262 East 3300 South Salt Lake City, Utah 84115 467-627- 4 ASK FOR WENDY YOU KNOW WHAT TO THE COCOA & COFFEE PRICES r tr-- percent tallied in September last year. The September rate in the current year is the lowest in almost eight years, when in November 1969 the rate was 5.1 percent. Of a total civilian labor force of 545,900 people, unemployed workers accounted for 28,600. Total employed workers was 517,300. Job Service said the civilian work force increased over the past month by 2,200 workers and at the same time, employed workers also increased by 2,600. Jobless on the other individuals, hand, decreased over the month from 29,000 to 28,600. The average duration of unemployment decreased in all categories, indicating the jobless transition for unemployed workers is much smoother. The largest drop came in the three to four week category, which dropped 14.3 percent. Another significant gain was made in the 15 week or more category, which fell 6 percent. and the National Forest Service are Service, now in the process of examining large portions of the state to determine if their characteristics warrant wilderness protection. That wont take land aw'ay for potential power plants or other kinds of development, but, according to Jed Kee, Utahs planning coordinator, it could bar development from much of the land because the federal Clean Air Act imposes Class I standards on such areas. Almost any change in air quality would violate Class I requirements and potential plant sites could meet the criterion. Kee told the Enterprise last week that Governor Matheson has asked the U.S. Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture to delay decisions on which areas to study until state and local officials can provide input. Once a region is chosen for study, no projects that might detract from its wilderness characteristics could take place during the study period. That could be as long as two to three years. Kee said Secretary of Interior Cecil Andrus had agreed to await the input before the BLM and Parks decisions are made. Kee know didnt Secretary of Agriculture Robert Berg-land- s position yet as to the Forest Service. Both the BLM and the Forest Service are examining X HOME EQUITY LOANS 7 We buy, sell, and lend on 1st and 2nd Trust Deeds. Paid or not. RETT? FOR INFORMATION ON AND SUGAR WRITE... COCOA, COFFEE London (fomnuiititt) (ttytiouti, S 1341 SOUTH STATE. SUITE 210. SALT LAKE CITY. UTAH 84115 STATE ZIP CODE i801) CONSTRUCTION LOANS HOME IMPROVEMENT LOANS CONSOLIDATION OF DEBTS COMMERCIAL LOANS COLLATERAL LOANS TERM LOANS Call For Cash 486-587- 1 roadless areas in the state. The BLM study was mandated last fall by Congress in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (properly known as the BLM Organic Act) to study those areas along with natural or primitive areas designated as such prior to Nov., 1975. The former areas must be reviewed by fall of 1991, the others by July, 1980. Jack Reed, BLM public affairs officer, said Utah's 11 primitive or natural areas total approximately 150,000 acres. No one know's yet how many acres controlled by the BLM will be considered roadless" because the BLM office in Washington hasnt determined what criteria will be used, Reed said. Proposed guidelines, however, have been submitted to Andrus and they could be distributed in a few weeks, he asserted. The BLM controls some 23.5 million acres in Utah. The federal government as a whole controls 35.775 million of the 54.346 million acres of water and land in the state. According to Frank Gover of the Forest Service, that agency may be studying over three million acres, including over 655,000 acres in the Wasatch National Forest. Their review came after a speech by Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Rupert Culter calling for such a Roadless Area Review Evaluation (RARE). Grover said the study would probably delay a number of worthwhile projects in the area, such as range rehabilitation and re- vegetation, timber sales, sagebrush eradication, and soil and water restoration. Kee said the Park Service is studying the Glen Canyon and Canyonland areas and the states Environmental ordinating Committee has reactivated a group to study that region too. One result of these potential studies, which in theory could stop a lot of development in the southern part of the state, has been that some local officials are seeking to make sure roads are recognized as such. Kee also told the Enter prise there is some disagree ment between the state anc Forest Service as to whether areas with logging roads should be roadless. The Service has considered them as roadless, but the state disagrees. Ironically, 486-358- 1 Co- the National Wilderness Preservation 2906 SOUTH STATE ST. v System specifically allows the establishment of power projects in wilderness areas if the President approves (16 U.C.A. 1133). But that, apparently, doesnt solve the clean air problem. |