| Show Wilderness designation challenged by Rep Gunn McKay Utah lUtah U h Congressman Gunn McKay last week warned Interior Secretary Cecil D D. Andrus that tha t proposed procedures for review of some 53 million acres of Utah land for possible wilderness designation ignore federal oil and mineral leases which constitutes taking by the government without just com compensation pensa tion In a letter to Andrus McKay revealed a conflict between the plan for Bureau of Land Management wilderness withdrawal on the one hand and the Bureaus Bureau's own resource development leases on the other McKay said areas considered for wilderness designation are those tracts of land acres or larger with wilderness characteristics characteristics- quoting from the defir definition tion in which man is a visitor who does not remain-land remain retaining its primeval character without permanent im im- Under the strict definition Rep McKay said such lands would be off off- limits to all development during the wilderness review period regardless of the existence of valid federal coal oil and gas or mineral exploration and development leases TO ISSUE a lease granting the right to controlled exploration and subsequent subsequent sub sub- sequent development vf including necess necessary necessary ry road building activities while at the same time telling the leaseholder that he must explore on a develop with a fJ shovel turns fair play on its head head McKay wrote I maintain that if a valid exploration and development lease has been issued the area impacted by the lease cannot be considered wilderness for the purpose of withdrawal and management he said Prohibiting a leaseholder from exercising his rights by adoption of a restrictive management plan or withdrawal withdrawal withdrawal with with- for lengthy evaluation constitutes constitutes con con- taking by the government without just compensation McKay said He lie called for exclusion from wilderness consideration those lands even if previously untrammeled which have current valid federal exploration and development leases Such lands cannot be c considered wilderness if a legal right exists to explore build roads and develop the resources of the area McKay said Commenting on his letter McKay said The ground rules for this review are critical If they're not right at the very beginning ng well we'll lose in the long longrun longrun run and much of Utah's energy potential will die in the cradle AO |
