OCR Text |
Show a long time coming "I don't believe it," one observer stated Wednesday Wed-nesday morning after learning that after two years of bouncing from one agency to another on the road to an approved environmental impact statement, state-ment, the Squaw Flat road extension in Canyonlands National Park had finally been approved and would be advertised for bids in a matter of days. It has been an unbelievably long pull for those who have worked hard, not only in seeking a good route, but for those who labored over writing the detailed environmental analysis. But the statement now stands approved, and work will go forward. Funding for the project has been in hand for a number of years, so that should be the least of worries at this point. The question of bridging the "Elephant Hill Gap" in Canyonlands road planning has been a serious one, and not one where decisions could be made quickly. At first, we were fully convinced that the barrier should be bridged along the route of present jeep roads in the park. Over the years of study, however, we feel very strongly that the new route, which is several miles north of Elephant Hill, is a much better route, and will better protect the aesthetic qualities that make Canyonlands unique. The requirement for studying the environmental impact in this particular case, although time-consuming, time-consuming, has avoided a bad mistake in park development. |