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Show THE ZEPHYROCTOBER 1994 PAGE 16 The Canyon Country WATCHDOG a 30 year emptoyee, was forced out of his job when he said the Division would support Wild and Scenic River protection for twenty streams in order to protect habitat to the Price Sun Advocate, Maybe this all explains a recent DWR action. According on August 11 the Utah Wildlife Board presented a plaque and letter of Commendation to Roger Cyfers who was: "honored for coundess hours of volunteer service to the Utah Division of TNMife Resources in tracking down marauding beers and cougars which had become a threat to area stockgrowers and the general public. By Scott Groene Nothing But a Bunch of Damn Mold Stuff Anyway. The BLM San Juan Resource Area is considering a grazing permittee's proposal to pump water 50 feet up from a spring in the Cedar Mesa area. The water project will expand grazing into an area that now lacks water. According to the draft environmental assessment the project "wUl be partially within archeological site 42SA5024, that is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The prehistoric site wUl be affected in several ways. First, there wUl be a visual intrusion to the site by the equipment, including a solar collector, that will be used for pumping and storing water. Also, it will disrupt the parts of the site where the water coHectionJpumping will be installed and where the surface pipe will carry water to the stock watering location." As a member of the general public I don't feel threatened by "marauding bean and cougars." DWR protect, rather than kill them. I just seeing one now and then, and would prefer that Land Sale Around Moab. The BLM intends to amend its management plan in order to dispose of seven chunks of public land through sale, exchange or other means. The environmental assessment should be released on September 22, with a 30 day public comment period to follow. Same of the proposed transfers seem reasonable (exfora Grand County landfill near the have not been released, I have airport), but others are questionable. Although the documents been told that in at least two of the transactions private land owners who have trespassed onto lands. For a copy of the EA call public lands will be rewarded with the option to purchase those the Grand RA office, 259-819- 3. The BLM intends to ask the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation for an opinion that the project will "have no adverse affect to the site." to The BLM is accepting public comment on this project until September 27. Call 587-21request a copy of the plan. 41 Vandalism In die City, 7 in die Wilderness A Crested Butte mountain biker has received BLM permission to spray paint symbols on die slickrock to mark a trail between Poison Spider Mesa and Little Canyon. The work is scheduled for October 27. This trail would vary somewhat from that which ORV advocates have already spray painted with little jeep symbols. Die area to be tagged indudes a route through the proposed Gold Bar Rim wilderness area. This is the only designated hiking trail on BLM land in Grand County, according to the BLM's resource management plan. Nonetheless, the agency has permitted the trail to turn into a ORV route since the RMP was finalized in 1985. The BLM pretended there was no decision made when it approved the spray paint job (there is no permit). Which is exactly how the Sand Flats and River road got to be such messes: the BLM looked the other way as things went to hell. The BLM probably would be fairly perturbed if someone started spray painting over aU those BLM signs that now litter the countryside. They should exercise an equal amount of concern for the wilderness. New BLM Leadership Kate Kitchell has been promoted from San Juan Resource Manager, a position she held for a year, to Moab District Manager. In this role she will oversee BLM land in Grand, San Juan, Emery and Carbon counties. Ms. Kitchell's promotion indicates the BLM decided to move into the 1990s before the decade is over (a line I stole from a BLM employee). There will no doubt continue to be disputes in this controversial District, but many of us are greatly encouraged that Ms. Kitchell is a professional who will fairly listen to all interests and then follow die law. ADC and BLM The BLM is trying to avoid responsibility for allowing Animal Damage Control, another federal agency, to kill wildlife on BLM land in an effort to protect domestic livestock. BLM is now accepting comments on its proposal to let ADC write environmental assessments for predator control work on BLM land, and issue the decision to let itself begin killing (the Forest Service has made a similar proposal). According to the federal register notice, the responsibility for determining whether ADC will kill wildlife on BLM land "logically" belongs to ADC and this will allow ADC to "streamline" its conduct. ADC is infamous for operating in the shadows and trying to keep the public from learning the extent of the agency's war on wildlife. Last year criminal charges were brought against a Utah ADC worker for illegally killing a bear cub and falsifying government records. Remember die Bode Cliff Highway? Over one year ago Uintah County Commission Chairman Max Adams declared that die Uintah commission had instructed an attorney to pursue legal action against Grand County for pulling out of the Bode Cliff highway project. Die Grand County Council, newly elected after a major political shake up, killed the highway as one of their first acts. We are still waiting to hear from Uintah County about that lawsuit Whose Side Are These Guys On? The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has suffered plenty under Department of Natural Resources Director Ted Stewart, former assistant to Utah Congressional Representative Jim Hansen, and appointed to the job by Governor Leavitt Since Leavitt's election, the agency was compelled to undergo severe staff cuts. The Director erf the Southwest Regional office of DWR, Groene sheared his own head this month because: A) He thought his hair would make good nesting material for an endangered bird species. B) He has given up his career as an annoying environmentalist for the life of "the few, the proud," the United States Marine Corps. C) He is a charter member of the Joe Palooka Fan Club. D) Two words: Bone Head. E) All of the above. Write your favorite federal agency. It is no secret the federal agencies are diort an staff, and often are unable to completely track what is going on in the field (being too busy building campgrounds and putting up BLM signs). The public needs to tell them when things are wrong. For example, some friends just complained to me about being buzzed by planes in both Cataract Canyon and Salt Creek. What they need to do is call, or write, the National Park Service. When the cows have trashed a canyon, helicopters or low flying airplanes harass you the if you can), you view damage to or suspicious behavior around archeological numbers (get animals that may have been poisoned (don't touch, same of the poisons used are sites, or find extremely dangerous), then it will be helpful if you call or write the federal agency to explain the problem. Time For the Cows to Come down. Most southern Utah BLM and Forest Service grazing permits are seasonal, with foe cows up onto the Forest in the summer and then coining back to the BLM land in the fall The cows go up into the LaSal Mountains between May 15 and June 15, depending on the allotment. The cows are supposed to leave the LaSals as follows: ng yo-yoi- Allotment Bald Mesa Date 10-2-1 10-1- Brumley Chicken Creek 9 10-- 1 Allotment Beaver Castle Valley Deep Creek Date 10-3- 1 10-1-5 10-1-5 Cottonwood Condos Kyle & Carrie Bailey, owners Full kitchen units Microwave Away from noisy Main St. in a quiet atmosphere CALL or write: 338 EAST 100 SOUTH MOAB, UT 84532 801-259-88- 97 OBVIOUSLY, GROENE IS TRYING TO GET THAT CERTAIN "KYLE BAILEY LOOK.. ; |