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Show Glen Canyon Bill Finally Passes After Lengthy Controversy After four years of deliberation, de-liberation, the controversial Glen Canyon National Recreation Rec-reation Area bill was finally fin-ally approved by both houses of Congress Saturday, and sent to the desk of President Presi-dent Richard M. Nixon for his signature. The bill, co-sponsored by Hep. Sherman P. Lloyd and Rep. K. Gunn McKay, passed the House of Representatives late Friday on a voice vote. The U. S. Senate, which had. passed a similar measure sponsored by Sen. Frank . Moss earlier this year, took action on the House bill Saturday, Sat-urday, and amended it to takeout language which would give Utah the option of building build-ing the controversial Wah-weap Wah-weap to Bullfrog Basin road if the National Park Service failed to do so within a reasonable reas-onable time. Ttie House accepted ac-cepted the Senate amendment which sent the bill on to the President. Rep. Lloyd stated that language lan-guage was retained in the bill which directs the Secretary Secre-tary of Interior to make a study of the road, together with the Utah State Highway Department, and to establish a "reasonable timetable for the engineering, planning and construction of the road" which the measure specifically specific-ally authorizes. "Although I regret deletion of the state's alternative authority au-thority to build the road, I am generally satisfied with the final result," Lloyd stated. sta-ted. "Legislative history has been clearly made that it is the intent of Congress that the road be built following a proper study which takes into consideration the envir- onmental impact. It should be further noted that a wilderness wil-derness is authorized for the Escalante River Canyon. "With the passage of this legislation, which I amconfi- dent the President will sign, jurisdiction over the recreation recrea-tion area now is properly lodged in the National Park Service where it belongs," Rep. Lloyd said. "Long term development now can take place to accommodate the tremendous increase in the use of Lake Powell. Boundary Boun-dary conflicts have been compromised com-promised to the best possible pos-sible extent." According to the bill, the total acreage of the recreation recre-ation area can not exceed 1.236 million acres. Sen. Frank E. Moss noted that the Senate-passed version ver-sion represents a compromise compro-mise which fully considers all of the interests and views of the people of Utah. The Senate accepted the House boundaries which added certain cer-tain side canyons to the area, Sen. Moss said, but it also decreased the size of the Escalante Es-calante Wilderness Area. Another change in the Senate Se-nate version raised the level of authorization for the acquisition ac-quisition of lands from $175 thousand to $400 thousand based on estimates of increased in-creased land value since the original proposal was made. Congressman K. Gunn McKay Mc-Kay said he was delighted that the Glen Canyon bill finally fi-nally passed after two years pf difficult negotiations. He said it should be a new, great scfenic attraction to visitors from all over the world. Passage of the bill at all came just in the nick of time. Congress is now awaiting aw-aiting adjournment, and many feared the bill would not have necessary time to clear all legal hurdles before the lawmakers left for their homes hom-es to campaign. Delays in getting all work done for adjournment ad-journment allowed the bill to be handled. Lake Powell has been administered ad-ministered as a recreation area by the National Park Service since it was created creat-ed following completion of the Glen Canyon Dam. Administration Ad-ministration of the area, however how-ever was by Presidential decree, de-cree, with Congress failing to take permanent action over the last ten years. Disputes over conservation issues, as they particularly concerned the wild Escalante River System, Sys-tem, made passage of the bill time-consuming. The bill which finally was con-. con-. sidered had the support of the full Utah congressional delegation, as well as that of Gov. Calvin L. Rampton. |