Show Uintah Basin Public Land newsletter In tn the Oct October r newsletter of or orthe the Vernal District t bureau Hureau or oi orLand Land Management titled tilled Uintah Basin Public Land News the following summary of or activities were highlighted A New Old Name The public lands are back For several years the lands land managed by the Bureau have been called National Resource Lands With the passage of or the Federal Land Policy and Management Act in October of or last year lands we manage are again called public lands You will notice that the name of or the newsletter has been changed to reflect the new look 1000 Megawatt Power Plant Moon Lake Electric has had prell nary discussions with us about constructing a 1000 megawatt fired coal power plant near Bonanza Several sites are arc under consideration from Rangely Colorado to Ouray Utah with the most likely spots being near Bonanza Coal would be brought from mines northeast of Rangely by slurry pipeline to the plant plantsite site Twenty thousand acre feet of water for cooling I would be secured from the White River Reservoir proposed by the Utah Division I of Wildlife Resources i The plant would be built buill in inI I modules about megawatts each cach as the demand for I electricity increased ased to an ultimate te 1000 megawatts The power generated would be used to demands for oil shale development and other commercial com com- commercial mercial and domestic uses in eastern Utah and western Colorado Some power may be besold besold besold sold to other utilities as far faraway faraway faraway away as Nevada Free Firewood Free use firewood permits are now being issued by the district Individuals may receive up to five cords of pinon or juniper firewood from designated free us use areas each year Permits may be obtained by visiting the office The free use areas vary from ten to sixty miles from Vernal Areas close to Vernal are predominately juniper Pinon is available at aUKe the slightly hi higher er w td the B k I i f Mountains Sale of firewood and fence posts will continue for commercial operators Several bid sales are being planned for forthe forthe forthe the coming year Negotiated sales price will remain at 2 per cord New Oil Shale Tract Proposed The State Stale of Utah and Uintah County has proposed a acre tract of land on Seep Ridge in inthe inthe inthe the be leased for oil shale development by in situ methods In situ Latin for the original place processing involves underground heating of oil shale to produce liquid oil which is then pumped to the surface for further processing Nine oil shale tracts six in Colorado and three in Utah were nominated ted by industry for leasing in the fall of 1975 One of the tracts is located in a crucial winter deer range so the State of Utah and Uintah County have proposed an alternative tract the crucial deer winter range The alternative tract along with the nine nominated will be assessed in the supplemental supplemental supplemental sup sup- environmental impact statement EIS being prepared on the proposed in situ oil shale leasing program The EIS has been stalled by the Department of Interior review since April so the State and Uintah County have sent a aletter aletter aletter letter to Secretary Andrus requesting the department to finish the EIS and lease the tract they have proposed The tract nominated by Utah State and Uintah County is in an anarea anarea anarea area where the oil shale is relatively shallow and has oil shale beds that could be developed by a true in situ method No underground mining would be required to prepare the shale for ex ex- traction However the ground surface would be raised by blasting to create void spa spaces es in inthe inthe inthe the oil shale zone that will allow the shale to be heated healed Historic Ranch Hanch In Browns Brown's Park Esther Campbell has listed her 37 acre ranch in Browns Brown's Park for sale The ranch adjoins adjoins ad ad- joins Indian Crossing boat landing on the Green River It includes an old stone stonehouse stonehouse stonehouse house and corrals which comprise one of the first ranches ranches ran ran- ches in that section of the state Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch sometimes visited the area There are four graves on the ranch including Jesse Ewings Ewing's an early day miner for whom a nearby canyon is named and a man he killed on the ranch Because of or the property's historic significance and its conformity to the Bureaus Bureau's present and future management plans along the Green River we are considering considering considering con con- acquisition of or the property with money from the theLand theLand theLand Land and Water Conservation Fund Preliminary land appraisals appraisals appraisals ap ap- ap- ap and discussions with the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation which manages theLand the theLand theLand Land and Water Conservation Fund are underway Wilderness Review Funds Cut CutA CutA CutA A review of public lands for wilderness study areas was begun last summer with funds provided by Congress Two people were hired for the summer to Identify areas throughout the district About study areas over acres each were tentatively identified pending final direction from our Washington Office Funds were not provided to continue the study in fiscal year 1978 The impact on construction construction construction con con- and resource development activities is not now known However the Federal Land Policy and Management Act requires that areas be managed in ina a manner so as not to impair the suitability of such areas for preservation tion as wilderness subject however to continuation continuation continuation con con- of existing mining grazing uses and mineral leasing in a manner and degree in which the same was being conducted on October 21 1976 |