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Show THE ZEPHYRMARCH 1993 "within 30 days of the election, he believes the Book Cliffs Highway project will become a minor issue compared to some things that are coining down. He said the Council will soon be aware of these things. Elaine Coates, hired by die board as legal counsel agreed. At that time, Nodine declined to be more specific as to what he meant At the February 20 meeting, this time in front of not candidates but newly elected members of the county council, Nodine announced that what he was talking about more than a month earlier was the decision of the Bureau of Land Management to strictly enforce federal rules on filming projects shot on public lands. Under the regulations, all film projects, including still photography shots, require a processing period of up to 15 days, which is then followed by a 3Bday period to allow affected interests, or other users of public lands, to launch appeals of the project In other words, motion picture and still photographic commercial activities will all be delayed from between 31 and 45 days before federal permits for tiie activities will be issued. And the delays could be longer, stretching many months, if an appeal is actually filed. OPINION It is undear exactly why Nodine decided to make this announcement Possibly it was to show tiie council members how well connected he is, what a great source of information he could be to the new coundl, if they keep him around as a member of the road board. But tiie implications of what he said are kind of scary. Members of the Him Commission and others involved in working in the film industry expressed surprise and shock at the BLM dedsion, saying it would immediately cost jobs and threaten the longterm health of the industry here. If Gene Nodine knew, a full month in advance (and maybe longer, he never said in January when he found out about the BLM decision) why didn't he tell people involved in the film industry that they had a problem coming up? They may have been able to, with that much lead time, work out some sort of solution, or at least get in touch with their immediate clients to come up with some alternate plans. Nodine is an opponent of the environmental movement, as represented by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and the Sierra Club. Both those groups, following the BLM decision, were strongly criticized by local film commission officials as responsible for the ruling and the resultant loss of jobs and local income. Did Nodine consciously sabotage that local business in order to generate criticism of environmental organizations? Did he decide it was better for local residents working on pending film projects to lose money, in order to get the film commission to come out with group statements? Just as importantly, if Nodine knew, more than a month in advance, about a BLM action, didn't the local BLM? Why didn't federal officials here tip off the local film industry? If they could tell Nodine, why not tell those directly affected by the decision? One thing is painfully obvious. Someone, somewhere, manipulated local residents who look to the film industry for their livelihood. Someone has been lying to them, someone has been egging them on to vent their spleens against "obstructionist" individuals, while at the same time hoping to economically hurt the local industry. It would not be a bad idea of the new county council to look into the question. Everyone agrees that an overwhelming majority of film projects should require no more advance planning time than a few days, if they involve no surface damage or construction. A united effort can get those federal regulations amended. But Grand County will look idiotic if local officials spend their time trying to berate environmentalists instead of finding a solution. tal FACT On Thursday, February 11, the newly elected members of the county council gathered for an informal discussion of county problems and goals. Attorneys representing the county in a lawsuit against the owners of the JB Ranch arrived at the meeting, and the public was told to leave the room while a discussion of legal strategy took place. According to a report in the Times Independent written by Vicki Barker, that dedsion to close the meeting raised tiie ire of local reporter Ken Davey. "Councilman-elec- t John Hartley said the demanded know to was what burst into room, belligerently Davey going on, and challenged Council-electo dose tiie meeting." t the right of the OPINION Belligerent? Moi? They have me confused with someone else. PAGE 5 Nelson's Heating G Refrigeration 'serving Moab since 1 1 962' 075 Bowling Aley Lane 259-562- 5 We do custom heating & air conditioning systems. ALSO... hot water & radiant heating. in-fl- oor |