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Show PAGE 12 THE ZEPHYRJAN-FE- The Canyon Country WATCHDOG By Scott Groene & Ken Rait In Review: The big news for public lands in 1995 were the changes brought by Republicans controlling both the U.S. House and Senate as a result of the November 1994 elections. The Alaska and Utah delegations took the lead in trying to dismantle laws written with support during the 60's, 70's and early 80's that protect our water, wildlife and wilderness. In Utah, the biggest threat arrived when the Utah Senators and Representatives introduced their bill that would open million of acres of southern Utah's wilderness to development The legislative attack on Utah wilderness moved Vie focus of public land battles from local quarrels over agency decisions to Washington, D.C If the Utah delegation's bill becomes law, then it will be damn near impossible for Utahns to fight off proposals for dams, roads, drill rigs and chainings in the wilderness. Some legislation passed in 1995 which is already having an impact on Utah. President Clinton signed the rider that allows the Forest Service to exempt timber sales from environmental laws and citizen appeals under the guise of "salvage" logging. The Dixie National Forest immediately started justifying cutting under this awful new provision. The Manti-L- a Sal may try to make similar moves. Other legislation is pending with potentially rotten consequences for Utah. For example, Representative Jim Hansen introduced legislation which would allow those bearing a grudge against wilderness and National Parks to claim that old jeep trails and livestock paths are actually "roads" that could then be built into real roads. But as the year ends there is some hope. Moderate House Republicans rebelled in some instances against the extreme attacks on the environment, creating a rift with Republican leadership. Utah Representative Jim Hansen and Alaskan Don Young used their committee chair positions to lead the charge in dismantling public land protection, but found that they could not slam new laws through the Congress, at least not as quickly as they hoped. There is still a great threat, but some in the Republican party fear a voter lash back if the party gets tagged with an reputation. President Clinton's advisors already heeded the polls, and Clinton now promises he will use a veto pen against strident measures (on December 5 he vetoed the COP'S budget plan which included a provision mandating oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge). He knows he angered a key provision. constituency by signing the On the home front, the key to land protection is the public land management agencies. The president, through his political appointees, controls to a large extent the outlook of the Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Forest Service. These agencies suffered under twelve years of Reagan and Bush administrations, churning out politically driven development decisions that seriously harmed the agencies' credibility with the public. With Clinton's election there was great anticipation that a new day had arrived. Good agency personnel thought that finally they could perform their jobs based on good science, free from the need to satisfy the whims of extractive industries. But it soon became apparent that Clinton was not particularly concerned with environmental issues, and the new agency heads were forced to adopt a policy of appeasement, compromising on issues such as grazing without receiving anything in return. Locally there was improvement. Former Utah BLM State Director Jim Parker's 1950's style management was replaced by that of a progressive, Matt Millenbach. Unfortunately, Mr. Millenbach was then shipped back to D.C, replaced by current acting state director Bill Lamb, who appears far less willing to bring the BLM out of the dark ages. 1995 anti-wildern- logging-without-la- logging-without-la- B 1996 To their credit, the agencies have (with exceptions based on personnel) reversed the policy of affirmatively taking every opportunity to push development into roadless areas. But there remains an extreme reluctance to make decisions which might trigger the wrath of the Utah Representatives and Senators (local examples include the BLM's race and the Park Service's refusal to close ORV routes approval of the in Canyonlands N.P.). Probably due to a lack of support further up the chain of command, backbones still sway when it comes to hard decisions. Nationally, due to e White House interference, the Department of Interior's primary goal initially was Clinton's new mollifying western Governors, not environmental protection. Now, trickle down. outlook Recently, Secretary of found and politically driven green may on the assault Interior Babbitt started to speak out against the Republican environment The best news of the year is that the GOP war on the environment was met with stood up at hearing after passionate citizen activism. Last spring, Utah citizens effort to gut the red rock hearing to blast the Utah Senator's and Representative's wilderness. Nationally, dedicated volunteers have spent their free time organizing legislation. In my work in D.C., I've met against the Utah delegation's a bunch of wonderful citizen activists from around the country who provide the sweat and muscle that may stop this bill. They join the many dedicated folks in Moab and Utah that regularly stand up for the canyons. Thanks to you all. We may keep the anti-wildern- Red rock in one piece yet. ws ws Groene posed like this for the Lame Issue because: A) He wanted to prove to the world he could brush his teeth and look goofy at the same time. B) Revealing his pasty white thighs might make President Clinton think kindred they spirits, were thereby increasing the possibility of a presidential veto on the Utah wilderness bill C) He wanted to show off the protective headgear he wears when dealing with some members of Congress. D) All of the above. In Support of that Past Article I asserted above that the agencies have lost credibility due to a history of bad management. Using that as a segue, a recent editorial in a New Jersey newspaper stated "the Republican revolutionaries in Congress might consider eliminating the Bureau of Land Management, one of the most incompetent of all federal agencies, the clunks who have been willing accomplices to the current raids on the environment." The Utah Wilderness Elimination BilL The Utah delegation is still pushing their awful bill. The battle has become national, with major network coverage;, editorials and political cartoons around the country condemning the Utah delegation's efforts. No one knows if they will succeed in their stupidity that would ruin our wilderness. If so, then future generations will question the mistake for years to come. But the outpouring of public anti-wildern- Pack Creek Ranch i A Country Inn & Guest Ranch The winter solitude of Pack Creek Ranch isnt for everyone...! For this we give thanks. Give someone you love a weekend at Pack Creek Ranch & hope they take you along. P.O.Box 1270 Moab , Utah 84532 Call (801) 259-550-5 reservations |