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Show Lloyd Pushes for House Action On Glen Canyon Compromise Bill WASHINGTON Rep. Sherman P. Lloyd, R-Utah, said Friday that he intends to call up the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area bill for a vote by the full House of Representatives on October 2. The Utah Republican said a backlog of legislation from the House Interior Committee Commit-tee has prevented scheduling action on the controversial bill before now, but added that he hopes the legislation can be passed during this session of Congress. "It is my hope that we can get the bill on the consent con-sent calendar in the House, thus bypassing the House Rules Committee and saving considerable time," Lloyd said. "The only thing that might prevent us from get-ting get-ting the bill on the consenc calendar and getting it cleared clear-ed up before Congress adjourns ad-journs would be if the Sierra Club and other preservation groups mount a nationwide campaign to kill the legislation." legisla-tion." Threats of such an effort were voiced by Congressional spokesmen for the Sierra Club during consideration of the bill by the House Interior Inter-ior Committee, Lloyd said. The House bill, which was approved by the House Interior Inter-ior Committee on August 11, establishes permanent boundaries bound-aries for the recreation area surrounding Lake Powell and authorizes a scenic road from Glen Canyon City to Bullfrog Basin. The legislation has the approval ap-proval of the Utah Congressional Congres-sional delegation, the Governor, Gov-ernor, a majority of Utah's County commissions, and has been endorsed editorially editorial-ly by the state's two mujor newspapers. Lloyd beat back efforts by national conservation . groups to kill the road proposal both in the Interior Committee and the Subcommjtte on Parks and Recreation. Under the House bill, co-sponsored co-sponsored by Rep. Lloyd and Rep. K. Gunn McKay, D-Utah, D-Utah, directs a study to determine de-termine the exact route of the road from Glen Canyon City to Bullfrog Basin, but specifies that the road must cross the Escalante River South of Stevens Arch at a point where the Lake Powell Pow-ell has already backed up in- to the Escalante Canyon. Lloyd said the road is essential es-sential not only to provide long-needed access across the southern part of the state, sta-te, but to open up a highly scenic area and provide access ac-cess to Utah marinas on the lake. The legislation provides that if the National Park Service does not begin construction con-struction of the road within a reasonable timetable, it may grant an easement to the State of Utah to build the road. The bill authorizes a wilderness wild-erness study of the Escalante Canyon from' the proposed high bridge crossing of the river at its extreme soulh end to Harris Wash, a distance dis-tance of about 60 miles. The Senate passed a Glen Canyon bill last year without with-out the road authorization. If the bill is approved by the House, a conference committee commit-tee will be appointed to iron out major differences before the legislation is sent to the White House to be signed into law. |