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Show BLM Had Varied Role in PJlanaging 25 Million Acres Managing nearly 25 million acres in Utah involved the Department of the Interior's t Bureau of Land Management 'in a wide variety of activities during 1976. 'Ot According to Paul L. How- ard, BLM Utah state director, the Bureau was involved in such programs as mineral development, grazing, recreation, recrea-tion, woodland products, and the preservation of environmental environ-mental and cultural values of historical places. The bureau administers approximately 47 percent of the state's land area. Late in February, the BLM State Office moved from the Federal Building to the University Uni-versity Club Building at 136 East South Temple in Salt Lake City. The move was made to centralize the staff and provide for better service to the public. Minerals activity during the year included issuing 2,341 noncompetitive oil and gas leases on 3,460,397 acres and 19 competitive oil and gas leases on 4,886 acres. High bids for the competitive leases totaled $148,946. Geothermal steam leasing continued with BLM issuing 87 noncompetitive noncompeti-tive leases on 154,000 acres and 1J competitve leases on 26,968 acres with high bids totaling $96,688. Oil and gas leasing activity on BLM-administered land in western and southern Utah increased greatly with the bureau receiving 130 lease applications for that area during dur-ing the last 60 days of the year. Public Hearings on the draft environmental statement state-ment (ES) for the proposed Emery power plant near Castle Cas-tle Dale were held in September. Septem-ber. Bureau personnel are also involved in statement or pre-statement work on, two other proposed coal-fired generating gen-erating plants in Utah: Warner War-ner Valley, near St. George; and Intermountain Power Project, 10 miles north of Caineville, Wayne County. A draft ES was completed and public hearings held concerning con-cerning a proposed alunite processing plant in Beaver County. Alunite ore would be mined and processed at the oroiect site in the south end of Wah Wah Valley, which is approximately 30 miles southwest south-west of Milford. Alumina, the primary raw material for aluminum, would be the major product. As a result of the public hearings and comments, com-ments, the bureau will issue a final ES, preparatory to a decision as to whether the project should be allowed. BLM people are working on Utah's first draft ES concerning concern-ing livestock grazing. The pilot effort has been titled the Hot Desert ES and includes most of the national resource lands in Washington County. The bureau will prepare 20 grazing statements in Utah over the next 12 years because be-cause of a suit against the BLM by the Natural Resources Resour-ces Defense Council. Mr. Howard noted that BLM's wild horse management manage-ment program resulted in placing 29 Utah wild horses in "foster homes" during the year. The Bureau is respons-. respons-. ible for the protection and management of nearly 1,900 wild horses and 70 wild burros in the state. The Bureau was active in the management and development develop-ment of recreation sites across the state. In April, a ceremony to dedicate the 60,000-acre Little Sahara Recreation Rec-reation Area southwest of Jericho, Juab County, was conducted at a newly completed comple-ted picnic site in the recreation recrea-tion complex. Eight wildlife habitat improvement im-provement projects in seven counties were completed by BLM during the year in cooperation with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Resour-ces. Basic stabilization of three historic sites in Utah was completed under supervision of BLM; Fort Pearce, southeast south-east of St. George in Washington Washing-ton County; Starr Ranch, south of Hanksville in Garfield Gar-field County; and Swasey's Cabin, west of Green River in Emery County. During 1976, checks totaling total-ing -more than- seven and' one-half million dollars were sent to the Utah Treasurer as the state's share of funds received from federal lands administered by BLM, Mr. Howard noted. Ownership of 600 acres of BLM-administered land in Sanpete and Juab counties was transferred to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act. Title to 4,607 acres in Castle Valley, Grand County was also transferred trans-ferred from the federal government gov-ernment to the State of Utah. The Bureau was also active in issuing various rights-of-way grants for roads, pipelines pipe-lines and power lines. There were 208 fires on national resource lands that burned 14,251 acres. This was an increase from the 127 fires in 1975. An increase in public response re-sponse to the Bureau's annual offering of firewood and Christmas trees was also no- ted. |
