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Show PAGES THE ZEPHYROCTOBER 1993 up the current medical needs of the town, and recognize the opportunities to get what we want and need. FREAK ACCIDENT! FACT The Grand County Commission and the Bureau of Land Management are discussing how the county can obtain control of county roads that pass over BLM land. The State of Utah holds that it, and its counties, have authority over roads listed on county B and D road systems. But the BLM recognizes only those roads where local governments have obtained Ad logo rights-of-wa- cartoon figure... Charges pending investigation. y. OPINION Grand County has an opportunity to take the lead in the state in working out a solution to an issue that has become a bone of contention between the federal and local governments. For decades, counties have been grading, maintaining, and paving roads across BLM land, and until recently it's been a live and let live situation. But with the emergence of new "values" (scenic quality, wildlife maintenance, cultural antiquities), there have arisen disputes between traditional rural Utah outlooks and preservationist points of view. At issue is the power that local governments have to carry out road repairs, improvements, and in areas that some people think might be better left alone. The county has a that historic routes used by residents remain open to use. The federal concern legitimate government, representing a lot more than miners and jeepers living in Moab, has to look out for interests that extend beyond the county line. The Grand County Council has the opportunity to set an example for the rest of the state in coming up with ways to do both. The BLM and the county have been discussing the question for the last few months, sometimes calmly and sometimes heatedly. From the BLM's point of view, the local government and does not have authority over those roads where they haven't obtained legal right's-of-wathe agency says the county should apply for what are known as Title 5 authorizations for control of the existing roads and disturbed areas surrounding them. Approval of the requests, says the agency, would mean that the county can grade, pave, resurface and maintain the roads as they cost nothing but time. have in the past, and the procedure to get the But some county officials are worried that roads heretofore considered county property could revert to federal control and that, on bureaucratic initiatives emanating from Washington, Salt Lake, the Moab District or the Grand Resource Area, traditional routes used by locals might be dosed, or that roadwork needed for local industry or recreation may be preduded due to expensive study and assessments. Both sides have a lot to gain by coming to mutually agreeable conclusions, and a hell of a lot to lose by blowing the opportunity. County officials have expressed frustration at the lengthy process and sometimes contradictory information and advice they get from the federal agency. No kidding? What a surprise, a government apparatus involving millions of people has rules, regulations, chains of command and other dements aren't organized to provide quick response. y be? Can Yes, there are questions to be settled. I low wide should the county road crews put in culverts where they think they are needed, or docs that type of work require environmental analysis? How much should some people's local economic interests be balanced against the overall pluses and minuses to wildlife and other natural resources? The answers aren't always easy to arrive at, but that is the point with negotiations, to work things ouL It took YEARS for the state and federal government to come up with a deal trading state lands within national parks in exchange for royalties on coal mining operations, but the state and the Department of Interior kept up the efforts, and the final result is millions of dollars for education in Utah, and at the same time protection of the parks. There are enough differences between that may government agencies without drawing additional lines in the sand over might-be'- s never arise. falls on Ccme Try L7000 y, rights-of-wa- y rights-of-wa- say io u Just took a picture of a 300 lb. gun on You a bike, and you want to make sure It comes out OK? YOU CAN COUNT ON USI 0jfflB by II AM... ready by S PM. in by 5 PM- -. ready by 1 0 AM. in C4 1 PROCESSING (COLOR PRINTS) ONLY |