OCR Text |
Show Final Classification of San Juan Lam! Announced by State BLM Office The classfiication for multiple use management of some 800,063 acres if San Juan County has been announced by R. D. Niel-son, Niel-son, State Director, Bu-. Bu-. reau of Land Management. The classification leaves San Juan County with on. ly approximately 10,000 acres of public domain hinds, a point of which county residents have criticized cri-ticized the BLM. A public hearing was held in Monticello Mon-ticello Oct. 14, where the meaning and effect of multiple-use classification was explained and comments and suggestions received regarding the proposal. ' The Utah Mining Association Asso-ciation asked that lands in the Dark Canyon area and Bridger Jack Mesa not be segregated against mining. min-ing. But the BLM decided that although full mineral miner-al exploration has not been conducted on these lands, extensive study of the geology ge-ology of the area and related re-lated factors, indicate the mineral value in the fo. seeable future is minimal and of less importance that the historic archaeological, archaeo-logical, scenic and recreational recrea-tional value. Further, the lands in the Dark Canyon area( 74,317 acres total, have been designated as a primitive area, and 17,069 acres are within the proposed pro-posed Glen Canyon National Nati-onal Recreation Area. The multiple - use classification, clas-sification, however, will not affect the status of mining claims presently located on the lands, and will allow mineral leasing. The San Juan County 'Commission, in questioning question-ing the need for multiple-use multiple-use classification, suggested sugges-ted that some lands having potential for development lor irrigated cultivation be left open to desert land entry applications. However, How-ever, a BLM review of information in-formation on water wells showed that there are none with sufficient capacity to support irrigated cultivation cultiva-tion as would be needed to qualify for desert land entry. Additionally, no specific specif-ic tracts of land on which there -was an interest in desert land entry were identified at the hearing, or in later correspondence. Director Nielson's report re-port pointed out that if a need arises to satisfy a public need some of the lands can and will be reclassified re-classified for disposal in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Included in the classification classifi-cation especially for recreational, recre-ational, archaeological and study areas are the following: follow-ing: Salt Creek Overlook, Wilson Arch, Looking Glass Rok, Big Indian Rock, Needles Overlook, Windwhistle campground, Hatch Point Campground, Anticline Overlook, North Six Shooter Peak Recreation Recrea-tion Site, South Six Shooter Shoot-er Peak Recreation Site, 'Canyonlands Overlook, Kayden Historical Site, Beef Basin Administrative site and 4 archaeological sites. Combined acreage is about 1,723. The Bridger Jack Mesa portion is about 6,290 acres. |