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Show Utah BLAA reviews activities during 1979 It was a busy year for the Bureau of Land Management in Utah which saw public interest and involvement in bureau programs such as energy development, wilderness, and grazing reach a new high. The bureau manages more than 22 million acres or approximately 42 percent per-cent of the state's land area, according to Gary J. Wicks, BLM state director in Utah, as he summarized the year's BLM activities. He became state director direc-tor in September after Paul L. Howard's retirment. Approval for the Intermountain Power Project plant to be built near Lynndyl in Millard County was given in December by Secreatry of the Intereior Cecil D. Andrus. The energy project was expedited through cooperation among the utility industry, local, state and federal agencies involved. A new federal coal management program pro-gram was implemented by the Secreatry of the Interior during the year with the publication of a final environmental en-vironmental statement. This involved the public in several meetings and hearings throughout the state. Public comment is currently being sought on the potential coal leasing tracts in the Utah portion of the Uinta-Southwestern Utah Federal Coal Production Region. A study of issues raised by potential mining and transportation of coal from the Kaiparowits Plateau in southern Utah was started by BLM in cooperation coopera-tion with other federal agencies and the state of Utah. The study is scheduled to be completed July 1980. One competitive oil and gas bid opening open-ing was held by the BLM during the year. High bids on this offering totaled more than $925,000 on approximately 6,400 acres. The wilderness review program was in full swing throughout the year with the initial inventory being completed on more than 22 million acres of BLM-administered BLM-administered land in the state. BLM received 7,000 comments from 1,600 people on this phase of the wilderness program. There has been more public involvement and interest in this program pro-gram than any oilier BLM program in the state. To date, approximately 16 million acres in Utah have been dropped drop-ped from the wilderness program with six million acres still being reviewed. More than 130,000 mining claims were recorded with BLM in Utah during dur-ing the year as required by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. This brought the total mining claims recorded record-ed by BLM in the state to more than 200,000 since passage of the Act in October, Oc-tober, 1976. During 1979, checks totaling more than $12.3 million were sent to the Utah Treasurer as the state's share of funds received from public lands managed by BLM. Local governments in the state also received more than $8 million "in lieu" payments from the BLM. These payments are made annually in lieu of property taxes which the federal government does not pay on its lands. Mr. Wicks noted that BLM's wild horse management program included roundups and trapping efforts that resulted in placing Utah wild 'horses in "foster homes" during the year. Nominations were received for multiple multi-ple use adivsory councils in each of the five BLM districts. These councils are expected to be established early in 1980. During the year final environmental statements were issued on three range management areas; Three Corners, Randolph and Parker Mtn. covering 544, 000 acres in Utah. Final statements were also completed on the proposed Utah Power and Light Company's Hunter (Emery) power plant units 3 and 4, and the Intermountain Power Project. Work is continuing on the Allen Warner Valley energy system and in addition to starting four new statements, BLM personnel participated par-ticipated in completing two coal statements in the state. A total of 2,150 acres was cleared by chaining and reseeded to produce more and better feed for livestock and wildlife in southwestern Utah. The BLM spent more than $800,000 on range improvements and maintenance during the year. Approximately 150,000 cattle and 450,000 sheep grazed on BLM-administered BLM-administered land in Utah during the year. The bureau was active in the management and development ' of recreation sites across the state. A visitor's center was completed at .trie Little Sahara recreation area in Juab County. Many people enjoyed river running run-ning on BLM-administered waters and the process of designating public lands for off -road-vehicle use was started by BLM. During the year, BLM provided employment for nearly 300 young men and women in the Youth Conservation Corps and Young Adult Conservation Corps. Work projects across the state included recreational facility construction construc-tion and maintenance, building trails, range conservation, and improving wildlife habitat. There were 187 fires on BLM-managed BLM-managed lands in the state that burned approximately 21,000 acres. This was an increase from the 171 fires in 1978 that burned about 7,800 acres. Programs continued in the protection of cultural resources, developing habitat for wildlife and stream improvements im-provements for fish. Thousands of Utahns cut Christmas trees, firewood and fence posts from the public lands. Commercial operators obtained permits for such acitivites as movie-making and river running. The bureau also issued a variety of rights-of-way for roads, pipelines and power lines across public lands. Mr. Wicks pointed out that the bureau's 1979 activities in Utah reflected multiple use philosophy of accommodating ac-commodating all uses someplace on the public lands but not necessarily providing pro-viding for every use on each tract or acre. |
