Show activities told in monthly newsletter Activities on the Vernal District Bureau of Land Management were summarized in the Uintah Basin National Resource Lands newsletter for April as follows follows- WHITE RIVER DAM DA HEARING The Utah Division of Water Resources will hold a public hearing on their proposed dam damand damand damand and reservoir on the White WhiteRiver River The hearing hening will be held June 9 at 9 a am a.m. m. m in the Uintah County Courthouse The Division of Water Resources has applied for the right to build a dam and reservoir on national resource lands along the White River approximately five miles southwest southwest southwest south south- west of Bonanza adjacent to the two general oil shale leases in Utah The Division of Water Resources has planned to build a foot high earthen dam that would have ave a storage capacity of acre feet of water and sediment The reservoir would be approximately approximately approximately ap ap- ap- ap proximately 12 miles long and have a maximum width of about 0 08 8 miles The project is designed to supply water for oil shale development irrigation water for the Ute Indian lands a recreation lake and possibly hydroelectric power generation PHOSPHATE Tf LEASE An environmental assessment has been completed on the US U.S. Steel Corporation application to lease acres of land 12 miles northeast of Vernal Further processing of the lease has been suspended until the US U.S. Geological Survey has evaluated the royalty rates now being used on phosphate leases This evaluation was initiated because of a General Accounting Office study that was critical of the mineral leasing royalty system After the royalty rates have been re-evaluated re US U.S. Steel will be given an opportunity to show that their proposed operation will be economic considering royalty rates and special stipulations proposed for the lease Prior to a final decision the Secretary of Interior Interior In In- will look over the lease This process will take several months THREATENS DROUGHT WILI WILDLIFE UFE HABITAT PROJECT The serious drought con cone in the District will have havea a hea heavy vy impact on the Browns Brown's Park Wildlife Habitat Project Browns Brown's Park is considered one of Utah's most important deer winter ranges Last fall acres were planted with browse species to improve the winter deer habitat However Qi P soil moisture conditions conditions this year may not supply enough water for seed germination and seedling survival Another part of the project calls for planting browse brows seedlings These seedlings were were grown in a green house in small tubes The plants are removed from the tubes before they are planted in the ground Plant survival is high with normal soil moisture above 80 percent is common but if the drought continues through the growing season these plants may not live NEW MINING 1 CLAIMS REGULATIONS Owners of mining claims mill sites or tunnel sites claimed prior to October 21 1976 are required under new regulation to file a record of their claims with within three years of the effective date of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act New locations of such claims must be filed with the Bureau within 90 days Annual reporting of assessment work is is also required If claims are located within units of the National Park System owners have one year from the date of the Mining in inthe inthe inthe the Parks Act of September 28 1976 to record their claims with the National Park Service Owners of a partial interest or owners by transfer also are required to record their claims The new regulations also require notification of the Bureau of Land Management of the transfer of an interest in a mining claim under the new regulation Prior to filing these claims the miner is encouraged to check with the to determine determine deter deter- mine if there are any withdrawals withdrawals with with- or r segregations ns fr from i mining in that area Many claims are still being filed on lands that are withdrawn from mineral entry or segregated against entry by classification Claimants staking on these areas waste their time and money by recording with the county and the Bureau of Land Management as well as expenditures expenditures expenditures ex ex- ex- ex in exploration and development of the claims PARK PAUK PARKLAND PARKLAND LAND USE PLAN The land use plan for the Browns Brown's Park Planning Unit is being updated this year The unit includes acres of national resource land in the eastern half of Daggett County and a small portion of northern Uintah County We are now gathering data concerning resources within the unit and are at a stage where the public can help with planning planning plan plan- ning for future use of these resources You can help us identify facts land uses and values with which we may not be familiar and propose uses of the resources within the unit Some of the issues that have been identified in this planning unit are an all weather road through Browns Brown's Park a Wild and Scenic river proposal for forthe forthe forthe the Green River and the management of crucial deer winter range in Browns Brown's Park |