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Show BLM Announces Wilderness Decisions Final wilderness decisions concerning eight" inventory units within the "Overthrust Belt" in southwestern Utah have been announced by the Bureau of Land Management. Two of these units are interstate units with Nevada. According to Gary Wicks, BLM Utah State Director, seven units totaling approximately ap-proximately 35,000 acres do not meet wilderness criteria and are being dropped from further wilderness consideration. con-sideration. Wicks said that his earlier proposal was to drop all eight units, but due to public comment and information received, the Utah portion (10,568 acres) of an interstate in-terstate unit (named Cougar Canyon, UT-040H23) has been identified as a Wilderness Study area and will be further evaluated for wilderness in the study phase. An accelerated intensive inventory was conducted on these units in advance of the scheduled statewide inventory in-ventory because of the potential demand for oil and gas exploration and development in the Over- thrust Belt. On October 5, 1979, the state director's proposed decisions were announced and a 45-day public comment period initiated. Wicks added that all other Utah units in the Overthrust Belt were inventoried earlier either during the initial inventory or during a special inventory associated with the proposed In-termountain In-termountain Power Project (IPP). As a result of the IPP inventory, one interstate unit (UT-040-057, AZ-010-004) in the Belt was identified as a Wilderness Study Area.' All other units were dropped from the . wilderness program. The seven units now being dropped a are: Doc's Pass (UT-040-124), 21,083 acres; Vermillion Castle (UT-040-136), 9,900 acres; and the Red Canyon Group (UT-040-269,270, 271, 272 and 273), 3,538 acres. More information in these units, such as maps and summaries, can be obtained from the BLM District Office Of-fice in Cedar City or the BLM State Office, 136 East South Temple, Salt Lake City. |