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Show McKay calls for change ; in wilderness review bin Utah Congressman Gunn McKay Thursday warned Interior Secretary Cecil D. Andrus that proposed pro-posed procedures for review of some 5.3 million acres of Utah land for possible wilderness designation desig-nation "ignore federal oil and mineral leases" which constitutes "taking by the government without with-out just compensation." In a letter to Andrus, McKay revealed a conflict between the plan for Bureau of Land Management Manage-ment wilderness withdrawal with-drawal on the one hand and the Bureau's own resource development leases on the other. McKay said areas considered con-sidered for wilderness designation are those roadless tracts of land 5,000 acres or larger with wilderness characteristics quoting from the definition defini-tion "in which man is a visitor who does not re mainland retaining its primeval character" without with-out permanent improvements. improve-ments. Under the strict definition, defin-ition, Rep. McKay said such lands would be off-limits off-limits to all development during the wilderness review period "regardless of the existence of valid federal coal, oil and gas or mineral exploration and development leases." "To issue a lease granting grant-ing the right to controlled exploration and subsequent subse-quent development, including inclu-ding necessary road building build-ing activities, while at the same time telling the leaseholder that he must explore on a donkey and develop with a pick and shovel turns fair play on its head," McKay wrote. "I maintain that if a valid exploration and development lease has been issued the area im- m parted by the lease caJ" be considered wilder for the purpose of : drawal and mana; ment," he said. :' "Prohibiting a holder from exercising B rights by adoption 0f ' restrictive managemet plan or withdrawal W . lengthy evaluation coW''-'. tutes taking by the gJ ' eminent without just coj; l pensation," McKay sf He called for exclus, from wilderness considaL-ation considaL-ation "those lands ever j -previously untrainmelak; which have current vsj) federal exploration ai-r development leases. Stir lands cannot be considj -: ed wilderness if a legj.t right exists to explat build roads and devea-. the resouces of the areJ c McKay said. .v Commenting on his y -j ter, McKay said, "iyr ground rules for this a-: view are critical. If they'll not right at the va L-i beginning, we'll losei'r the long run and mucht -r Utah's energy poteni-: will die in the cradle." :'- |