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Show 84101-121- Solution to wilderness controversy unveiled by Utah congressman WASHINGTON, D.C- .- Representative Bill Orton, D Utah, formally unveiled his draft Utah wilderness bill Dec. 22, beginning a process he hopes will resolve the contentious issue, according to a recent press re- lease. "Today, I am putting before Utah a concrete proposal; not an inflexible prescription, but a realistic starting point on the road to resolution of this debate," Orton said. Orton is sending copies of his proposed bill, officially known as the "Utah Public Land Use Management Act, to elected officials, business groups and environmentalists across the state, seeking their reactions to his proposal. "The solution to Utahs wilderness debate must come from Utah," Orton said. "I want input from every interested Utahn before I introduce this bill in the new Congress." While much of the wilderness debate has focused on a simple number-ho- w many acres of the state to designate as wilderness-Orto- ns approach utilizes a mix of wilderness and other designations to hopefully accommodate interests in Utahs competing public lands. "My proposal would set aside about 1.2 million acres of wilderness on the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land," said Orton. "It would also set aside about another 1.6 million acres of national parks and 1.8 million acres of National Conservation Areas or NCAs." NCAs are special designations created by Congress to protect and conserve nationally significant natural and cultural resources while allowing compatible uses to continue. Ortons draft bill would create three NCAs in Utah; 860,000 acres in the Canyons of the Escalante, 625,000 acres in the San Rafael Swell and 400,000 acres long-runni- for, Cedar Mesa. Orton says the concept behind NCAs when they were first created by Congress was to recognize that there are lands that are unique and have specific environmental concerns which need to be addressed. However, simply carving these areas out as wilderness or by lumping them in with other federally managed lands does not create a viable alternative for the proper management of them. This is why Congress and a broad spectrum of concerned parties created the concept of an NCA in the first place. Its not a national park or a wilderness area and its not just open range land either, Orton says. "The three NCAs I have recommended were designed to encompass a fairly large area that includes unique resources and ecosystems, biology and wildlife, Orton said. "The goal is to come up with an overall compre- hensive management plan that focuses on the unique character of that specific area and acknowledges compatible multiple uses." Orton cites archaeological resources when arguing that access to public land can better protect resources than could a wilderness designation. Utilizing a mix of wilderness NCA designations, Orton hopes his bill can avoid what he calls the "numbers game". and of Utah is already protected in the form of national national monuments, parks, national recreation areas and national forests. Orton's proposal would further protect about 3.1 million acres of additional land through the use of wilderness and NCA designations, and would further protect and additional 1.6 million acres of national Park system lands that would be given full protection under the Wilderness Act. By issuing a draft bill, Orton is continuing a process begun when he was first elected to Congress. "When I came to office, wilderness was one of the A lot top issues, and we set out immediately to inspect and analyze all of the public lands. Its from all of that information that we then fashioned this proposal." New members named to water board by Bruce Jennings MANTI Glade Mower, Fairview, was appointed to the Water Convervancy Sanpete Board at the Dec. 20 County Commission meeting; Boardmem-be- r Neil Nielson of Centerfield was appointed to an additional term. Other board members are chairman David Peterson, Mt. Pleasant; Gilbert Childs, Gunnison; David Cox, Manti; and Boyd Sunderland, Chester. The Water Conservancy board reaffirmed its commitment to water projects, particularly the completion of the Gooseberry-Narrow- s Project which would bring additional water down Fairview Canyon into the Sanpete Valley. Other items addressed by the Sanpete County Commission included the sale of an Aspen Hills subdivision lot to David J. Rose; approval of Morris Cooks application for reclassification of a small piece of property for Greenbelt status; approval of David Christens request for payment of title work on golf course property. Spring City rescinds action for trailer court expansion by C. R. Truitt SPRING CITY At a special meeting held Dec. 20, the council passed a motion to rescind action they took at the last council for meeting giving the Court Trailer to Spring Citys expand. Mayor Robert Allred announced that through the efforts of Councilman Mark Soffe, the go-ahe- Deadline MT. PLEASAN- T- The Pyramid office will be closed Monday, Jan. 2, for the New Years holiday. Articles and advertising for the paper must be submitted by noon on Friday, Dec. 30. The Pyramid will be delivered as usual on Wednesday, Jan. 4. council discovered that the property intended for use in the expansion was outside the zoned area. Both the council and the Planning and Zoning Committee had thought it was within two city block area, but when the zoning map "surfaced" it proved that the expansion site was not in the area. Allred said they could not legally expand without and the city notified Ken Allred to stop all construction. Over 28 citizens attended the meeting and most of them voiced opinions against expansion, even though two blocks had been set aside for the trailer park at the time the zoning ordinances were approved. A Planning and Zoning member, present at the meeting, explained that the committee will review the issue and make decisions and recommendations based I 2 on the wishes of the citizens at public meetings. He also said that since the council is elected by the citizens, what they recommend would certainly carry weight with the committees decision. A motion to recommend the Planning and Zoning Committee to reduce the zone to the current size of the trailer park was defeated twice. It was first proposed by Councilman Soffe and failed from no second and then after some discussion Martindale and Councilman by failed in a three-to-tw- o vote, with Mayor Allred breaking the tie against the measure. Mayor Allred felt that the Spring City citizens should attend any upcoming public meetings, make their wishes known to the Planning and Zoning Committee and that should carry the weight with the committee, not the PJ Steadman and Matt Larson, of North Sanpete High School, were named SUU competing in Cedar City recently. basketball players after Yule candles presented at 53rd annual service by Bruce Jennings EPHRAI- M- Two beautifully decorated Yule candles, symbolic of human service, were presented at Ephraim Middle Schools 53rd Annual CandleLight Service, on Dec. 20 to Mayo Black, Ephraim and Dortha B. Braith waite, Manti. Mrs. Braithwaits citation described her as "a giving, loving, caring and concerned person. Her life has truly been one of unselfish service." After her husbands death in 1966, Mrs. Braithwaite still had six children in her home. She took in ironing, did house cleaning and worked for 24 years as a food service employee for the South Sanpete School District. The candle was presented to her by Mindy Layton and Thom- as Bishop. Black, known as Grandpa Black to the hundreds of children, Black taught swimming at the Ephraim Pool, according to his citation. He also worked in Scouting, Primary and Senior Citizens. And even today, he makes sure that older residents are remembered with cards, phone calls and visits on their birthdays. In winter, his citation said, Mr. Black can still be seen shoveling away the snow from the entrance to the homes of widows and other people needing assistance. Margaret Burnham and Christine Johnson presented the Yule Candle to Black. Students making the presentations are high honor members of this years graduating class. The Candlelight Service also included performances of Christmas music by the schools bands, orchestra and choruses. Mrs. Braithwaite and Mr. Black were chosen to receive the candles by the faculty from a list of public nominees. Accident injures SC youth SPRING CIT- Y- Two Spring City teens were injured when the car in which they were traveling overturned on State Road 117 near here Dec. 20 at 3:50 p..m. to an accident According report filed by Ken Pitts, Utah Highway Patrol, Tiffany Eager, 16, the driver of the 88 Mercury, and Katie Brown, 15, a passenger, were both transported to Sanpete Valley Hospital. Their vehicle had been westbound when it drifted off the road to the right and overturned after the driver overcorrected to the left. Miss Eager was cited for excessive speed. The UHP report shows the vehicle traveling 55 miles per hour in a posted 35 mph speed zone. The driver was wearing a seat belt, but the passenger was not according to the report. The vehicle, which was totalled, sustained damages estimated at $5,000. |
