OCR Text |
Show THE ZEPHYRJAN-FE-B PAGE 14 The Canyon Country WATCHDOG By Scott Groene But They Still have to Share The BLM has released an EA which considers building 13 reservoirs in the Dolores Triangle near Granite Creek. The thirteen reservoirs would serve 27 cows (that's 2.08 cows per reservoir). Six of these new cow sacrifice areas would be located in the Granite Creek roadless area which straddles the UtahColorado line. Both Colorado and Utah groups are seeking wilderness protection for the area. The permittees, Dennis Cams and Ralph Lawson, out of Grand Junction, would take a bull dozer cross country to gouge out the ponds. The Grand Resource Area BLM is responsible for this one: 82 East Dogwood, Moab 84332, 259-819- 3. Dumb Water Project, Continued. In last month's Zephyr I recounted that BLM would probably approve damming up a spring on Cedar Mesa in the middle of significant archeological sites to fill a water trough for cows. The agency still has not decided what to do. 1995 access across federal lands in order to reach state lands. Senator Bennett has also stepped up to make strange allegations on this Issue. The Senator was recently quoted saying that the proposed RS 2477 regulations "would result in a dramatic The proposed and could potentially cripple the West. of federal property rights takings constructed and currently maintained. regulations would not shut down a single road which is Both Governor Leavitt and Senator Bennett are ignoring the best interest of their Utah constituents who would benefit by RS 2477 reform. The new regulations would allow federal lands to be managed as to protect beauty, wildlife, soils, water quality, and archeological values. Misinformation by the Deseret News The Deseret News editorialized in early December against the Endangered Species Act by explaining that environmentalists could shut down projects by merely petitioning to have a spedes listed as endangered, without any showing that the species actually is endangered. Wrong. A newspaper ought to check its facts before rattling off such nonsense (the Deseret News otherwise often provides good coverage of public land issues). I suspect the paper lifted the idea from a quote by Idaho Governor Cecil Andrus, who made the same erroneous statement in the Salk Lake Tribune the day before. Groene asked that he be cartooned this month instead of photographed Mexican Spotted Owl On November 30, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service laid out a proposal to designate about 4.8 million acres in the four comer states as critical habitat for the Mexican Spotted Owl. The forced to was this take action a filed law suit several environmental groups, agency by by including SUWA. The proposal includes about 200,000 acres in Utah. Public comments on the proposal will be accepted until February 1. because: A) Life has had a certain unreal 'cartoon-lik- e Film Regulations The Moab Film commission put out a press release in November complaining, again, about BLM s management system for film permits. The BLM is now operating under a system which the Utah Film Commission helped create (as did SUWA). The Moab District BLM issued more permits in 1995 than in any previous vear. Here Come the Cuts The Forest Service announced on December 6 that it will cut back from seven to five regional offices and cut staff to save up to 500 million dollars by 1998, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. The Intermountain Region office will remain in Odgen, Utah. The Department of Agriculture also announced December 6 that several Utah agriculture field offices which assist farmers will be dosed. The U.S. Geological Survey is also threatened, and that agency has begun a public relations campaign to fight off a proposal by House republicans to kill the agency. Bring On the Smog Bill Howell, Director of the Southeastern Association of Governments, was quoted in a November 29 Salt Lake Tribune complaining that the Clean Air Act was causing southeastern Utah to become a "sacrifice zone for visibility." It appears Bill is concerned we're getting dean air rammed down our throat. Howell also recently likened Ken Rait, a SUWA staffer, to Nazi propagandist Herman Coebbels. That comment drew letters to the Salt Lake Tribune suggesting that comparing an activist working to protect the beauty of Utah with those responsible for killing 6 million Jews went a bit far. The Good Governor and Senator Get it Wrong Utah Governor Mike Leavitt recently used misleading information to defend his efforts to kill RS 2477 reform et forts. RS 2477 is a 1AW year old law, repealed in 197o, which allowed states to build highways across public lands. The statute was forgotten until some Utah and Alaska counties raised the abandoned law from the dead to daim that dog sled and jeep trails are actually "constructed highways ' The claims were directed primarily to opening National Parks and wilderness to development and ORV use. So the I department of the Interior proposed new regulations to stop the abuse. In a constituent letter dated November 17, Governor Leavitt argues that existing RS 2477 right of ways must be protected because "access through federal lands is essential for the purpose of exercising rights of ownership m . state lands. The successful state management of school trust land is also largely dependent upon access through federal lands." The Governor is wrong for two reasons. First, the reform effort is directed towards stopping counties rrorn claiming cow trails and ORV tracks as "constructed highways." No one is threatening real roads. Second, the state does not need RS 2477 ROWs for access across federal landsto state lands. A Utah federal court ruled long ago that States have a right of reasonable . quality these days for Scott since the November election. He thought if he were B) caricatured, he might get more hair. C) Editor forgot to take new picture. D) All of the above. Wilderness Debate Censored The Deseret News reported in IXcember that State Legislator Met Johnson and Utah State University's Governing Board Member Booth Wallcntine successfully pressured the Utah Geographic Alliance into withdrawing from a Deseret News Wilderness project Wallcntine is al&o a Farm Bureau Executive. Members of the Alliance indude Utah schools arid universities. The Deseret News intended to publish a neutral explanation of the wilderness issue with grants from the Utah Geographic Alliance, the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. The piece would haw been used as of a Education project during in part Newspaper National Geography Week. Johnson and Wallcntine used their positions to kill funding from the Alliance. The D article quoted Carolyn Dickson, Manager of IXsoret Newspaper in Education saying think it s really pathetic when a legislator throws his to keep kids and teachers around weight from getting information he may not agree with." I With the Backbone of Green Jcllo Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt attended many of the "Colorado Rangeland Reform Working Group" meetings, and used the group as a model for proposed federal grazing regulations. The regulations, which have not been finalized, were so weakened in order to appease ranching interests that there is little hope for public land grazing reform. SUWA then filed a Freedom of Information Act request to determine whether the Department of the Interior had complied with the Federal Advisory Committee Act with the Colorado orljnP C'n,uP- FaCa insures that such groups are fairly balanced and hold public meetings. In response we were told that "the Colorado working group did not constitute a Federal advisory committee because the group did not serve in the capacity of advisors to the Secretary." - L TTie EA is out. The race promoters want a permit to run a 300 nule race across BLM land, I Canyonlands National Tark and Glen Canyon National Kecreauon Area (Eco Challenge says it will not race while traveling through Canyonlands). The Wilderness Society. Sierra Gub and SUWA offered to work with to find a more suitable location lor the race, but promoters refused our offer. The route slice through Wilderness Study Areas in BLM land and a Natural" area in GCNRA (which is for managed protection of isolation and natural processes). southeastern tah through "Eco-dulleng- FOR ALL YOUR SOLAR ELECTRIC NEEDS CALL: smr ROBERT SOLDAT CVSR25IO MOAB, UT 801.259-163- 8 84532 |