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Show : j i , .,1, ,1. " 4 . . I , ; - f . - Sep- K- Gunn McKay, D-Utah, spent the better part of two days in the Uoab area this week conferring with local residents and reviewing Riming actions in Washington. McKay's visit to Southeastern Utah was :Mnpted by recently released draft management guides for Canyonlands National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, to which he is 1 ttosed. During his visit here he toured the LaSal Mountain Loop Road " -i which he obtained a $700,000 federal appropriation this year for :1 aiing. Jatheson, McKay join battle over MPS inanagement plans Those Southeastern Utah resists resi-sts who are objecting to the itiposed Canyonlands Draft Gen-sal Gen-sal Management Plan have been iied by Utah Governor Scott Meson and Congressman Gunn McKay, who both were here this wk and conferred with residents Ed local officials on this and other sbiects. Gov. Matheson, who was here to . selp celebrate the- Diamond Ju-, Ju-, :ie, spoke at a town meeting at lions Park Saturday evening and affirmed his support of local :i sntiment concerning Canyon- mis. Upon return to Salt Lake City s sent a letter to National Park ' service Director William J. Whalen i which he charged that the NPS ,as "reneged on a previous , tommitment to complete access . 3ds making . . . the confluence of 4e Green and Colorado rivers and ie vista known as the Island in the available to the motoring : JDblic." Balancing the "values and interests" of the major groups lined ? on both sides of the 'roadless' question "is a difficult process in a Republic land state such as Utah , "tare there are competing and betimes exclusive uses advo- : for the public lands," he . note. Gov. Matheson pointed out, Although the authorizing lan-geinP.L. lan-geinP.L. 88-590, which created yonlands National Park is permissive insofar as access roads , concerned, there is little doubt B the minds of those who were jjolved in negotiations with the Jen-Park Service Director George "og that the completion of the access roads was an integral part of the compromise that led to the creation of the pari Congressman McKay, who was involved in early legislative action on Canyonlands and Glen Canyon in Washington, stated that the intent of Congress had been violated by decisions made in the draft management plans. He stated that having talked to dozens of Southeastern Utahns during his visit here, he was convinced that predominent public opinion was that earlier commitments for access development of the two parks should be kept, and that the new management proposals should be rejected. He is scheduled to meet later this week with NPS Director William Whalen in Washington. McKay, meeting with local officials Monday afternoon, asked for written documentation of incidents where citizens feel the results may have been distorted in public hearings or workshops, or other incidents leading to a "skewing" of the record in this regard. |