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Show P5C OrdP in Li in tO h Wednesday, Jonuory 4, 1984 Vernal I County first in state Retiring Executive .iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiH Western Resources WRAP-UP 11,1111,111 Illllllllllllllllllllll INIIMUWItllllllllHIIIIIIIIIItllllltlUlllllllllllllUJIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHlHIIIIIIIIl--'?! Public grazing allotments unused V.P. to be After 13 years as the Executive Vice President of the Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce, Dwight L. Wetenkamp, is retiring. The Chamber and his many friends and associates will honor him at a luncheon to be held at 12' noon on Jan. 10 at the Sheraton Inn. Friends and associates who wish to be present should call the Chamber office (789-1352) no later than January 6 for reservations. Dwight has been actively promoting and supporting the community for over 30 years. He has been active in many organizations including the Americn Legion, Vernal Rod and Gun Club, Little League baseball, Dinosaurland Advertising, the Red Cross First Aid Station, and the Bicentennial Committee. He is past president of the Vernal Rotary Club and board member, and past president of the Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce. Com-merce. He has served twice as president presi-dent of the Utah State Chamber of Commerce, a position he currently holds. honored tfr ... - A .; ' 'I tV;' 1! ) W;d ) Dwight L. Wetenkamp By Helcne C. Monberg Vernal Express Washington Correspondent Washington Grazing permits are going unused on the Western ranges, according to federal rangeland managers. That sheep allotments are going unused is not surprising, as the domestic sheep industry has been declining for many years. What is surprising sur-prising is the number of cattle allotments either going unused or reverting back to the federal land management agencies, according to the land managers. "There is a general trend downward in the number of permittees, particularly par-ticularly in Colorado, Idaho and Utah," Robert M. Williamson, director direc-tor of range management for the U.S. Forest Service, told Western Resources Wrap-up (WRW) in an interview in-terview on Dec. 22. "We got an indication of the fact that a number of permittees are not putting livestock on their allotments a year ago," Williamson said. "When we had our program review in September in Denver we talked about it because there are vacant allotments in Colorado. Col-orado. Although there was an upturn in 1980, basically the trend is down. "Our animal unit months (a measure of grazing use) are level, but our number of permittees is going down," Williamson said. "Something is happening out there on the ranges that we don't really understand, and we intend to find out what's happening. We plan to start an in-depth study of grazing permit use after the first of the year." It will be conducted under an on-going study of grazing fees that the Secretaries of Agriculture (U.S. Forest Service) and Interior (Bureau of Land Management) Manage-ment) are directed to do under the Public Rangeland Improvement Act of 1978 (P.L. 195-514), he said. Economic Problems Adverse economic factors are the major reason for the current decline in the number of grazing permits in the Forest Service, although there are others. Prices for beef have made the cattle business marginal at best during dur-ing the last three years, according to the National Cattlemen's Association. The demand for wool has gone way down as synthetic fabrics have been substituted for wool in clothing, so the domestic sheep business has been dying. Neither business is what it once was, according to Billy R. Templeton, chief of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) division of rangeland resources. He told WRW on Dec. 22 the number of cattle on the public range peaked about 1885 and the number of sheep on the public range peaked about 1910. Much of the range became overgrazed, overgraz-ed, so that its carrying capacity declined. declin-ed. In some areas of the country sheep raising has been phased out entirely, Templeton said. For example, the last sheep permit on the Arizona strip was turned back to BLM in 1977, said Templeton, who once was a BLM range manager in Arizona. "Because of the decline in the sheep business, many of our sheep permits have been converted to cattle permits," he told WRW. Williamson told WRW the same trend toward conversion of permits from sheep or cattle is occurring in the Forest Service, "but we still have a lot of vacant sheep allotments in Idaho, Colorado, and some in Wyoming and Oregon. In many instances the allotments cannot be converted from sheep to cattle cat-tle because the sheep allotments are on land at high elevation with short grazing seasons, or are in remote areas with no fencing or other developments" necessary for cattle grazing. "Several years ago we advertised in the local press that we had vacant sheep allotments for more than 14,000 head of sheep mainly in southern Idaho and Utah, through our Ogden regional office. We were able to fill a majority of the allotments, but it was tough," Williamson told WRW. Consolidations of holdings and some foreclosures of base property of ranchers ran-chers who held cattle permits have resulted in some vacant cattle permits and some reversions of the permits to the Forest Service, he said. Another factor in the downward trend of permittees is a change in land use, Williamson pointed out. "Some ranchers are turning their base property pro-perty into recreational uses," he said, such as for second-home developments, ski lodges, fishing camps, and even condominiums in rural settings. A permittee can retain his permit for three years, but when such a drastic change in land use occurs, oc-curs, "the permit reverts back to us," Williamson told WRW. In light of the current diet and health food trends, WRW asked the National Cattlemen's Association (NCA) whether these trends had cut into the market for beef. "No, our figures and those of the Department of Agriculture , show that beef is still the preferred item, but it is sensitive to prices and economic conditions. Beef is still king, and we expect the livestock industry in the west to stabilize after three years of no-profitability. We expect beef consumption per capita to be 76.5 pounds in 1984, as compared to 59 for pork and 63 for poultry. By comparison, com-parison, beef consumption in 1965 per capita was 73.6 pounds, pork 54.7 pounds, and poultry 40.7 pounds," Ronald A Michieli of NCA told WRW on Dec. 27. Interior Reorganization Washington (WRW)-Interior Secretary William R. Clark started his long-awaited reorganization of the Interior In-terior Department on Dec. 22. Clark eliminated the Assistant Interior In-terior Secretaryship for Energy and Minerals, which was being filled on an acting basis by William P. (Perry) Pendley. So Pendley's job has been abolished, and he is out. So is David C. Russell, who had been the acting director of the Minerals Management Service. Both were top aides of ex-Secretary ex-Secretary James G. Watt. Under the Clark-ordered reorganization, the bureaus and agencies agen-cies under the abolished Energy and Minerals Assistant Secretaryship have been split between two newly created high-level posts, a new Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, to which Reclamation Commissioner Robert N. Broadbent has been appointed, ap-pointed, and a new Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, to which Assistant Secretary Garrey E. Carruthers has been named. In what is believed to be the first order barring a utility from expending funds for a transmission line, the Public Service Commission h.is ordered Utah Power & Light Co. to cease and desist from undertaking any construction that would result in extension ex-tension of its service to the White River Oil Shale Project in Uintah County. PSC chairman Brent H. Cameron said last week he thinks the order is not only the first barring expenditure of money for transmission lines, but also the first cease and desist order issued by the PSC under a new law making it clear the commission has power to do so. At issue in the case is which utility will provide power to the oil shale project, pro-ject, which lies in service territory held by both UP&L and Moon Lake Electric Association Inc., a non-profit member-owned firm serving parts of Duchesne, Uintah, Daggett and Wasatch counties. Also at issue is whether the power will come from UP&L sources or from the under-construction under-construction Bonanza Power Plant, a southern Uintah County project being built by Deseret Generation and Transmission Cooperative and in which Moon Lake is a member-participant. member-participant. According to the PSC, White River's estimate of needing about ten percent of the plant's eventual 360 megawatt capacity was a partial basis for proceeding pro-ceeding with construction. And Moon Lake has an "all requirements" contract con-tract with DG&T to supply Moon Lake's present and future customers with electricity. Since 1982, Moon lake and White River have been in negotiations for the extension of a 138 kilovolt line from the Bonanza plant to the oil shale project, already being serviced nominally by Moon Lake. But in August, White River broke off those talks and instead signed a contract con-tract with UP&L whereby UP&L would build a line from Vernal about 24 miles to the White River facility, which would at this point be the only facility served by the proposed line. The oil shale project has already spent $150,000 engineering the line and UP&L has ordered goods to perform its part of the contract. Should Moon Lake serve the project, a 14 mile line would be required. Last week, the PSC put at least a temporary kabosh on the contract by deciding UP&L must obtain a certificate cer-tificate of convenience and necessity before building the transmission line to the project. Commission members added it appears White River's preference for UP&L is based solely on price. "It appears to us clearly imprudent to allow (UP&L) to construct a costly, cost-ly, high voltage transmission line when we have ruled it has no present authority to do so and there is at least some risk that it may be denied such authority," according to the PSC order. The ball is now in UP&L's court, the PSC indicated, as it is free to apply for a certificate authorizing its service to the oil shale project. Dwight's untiring efforts to promote tourism to Dinosaurland have brought lasting benefits to the community. He was instrumental in the conception and construction of the Dinosaur Gardens and continues to contribute his time to the maintenance and operation opera-tion of this most important tourist attraction. Dwight is a charter member of the Dinah-Mites, the group of now famous "goodwill" ambassadors, which promotes pro-motes Vernal throughout the inter-mountain inter-mountain area as a place to visit and as a place to live and work. For all these contributions to the Vernal area, Dwight was presented in 1980 with the Chamber's Outstanding Public Service Award. The community is not completely losing the services of this outstanding public servant. Dwight expects to remain re-main active in various Chamber activities ac-tivities and he will now be more active than ever promoting the Vernal area outside of our area as he takes on the responsibilities of Executive Secretary of the Dinosaurland Travel Board. Carruthers has been Assistant Secretary for Land and Water Resources, so it is a lateral move for Carruthers which does not require Senate confirmation Broadbent must be confirmed by the Senate in his new post, but this should pose no problem as he has been relatively noncon-troversial noncon-troversial as Reclamation Commissioner, Commis-sioner, and he is a close friend of Sen. Paul Laxalt, R-Nev., Mr. Reagan's closest friend in Congress. In his present post Carruthers has been in charge of the Bureau of Land Management. Under the Dec. 22 reorganization, he also becomes responsible for the Minerals Management Manage-ment Service and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. Enforce-ment. Carruthers, however, loses his jurisdiction over the Bureau of Reclamation in the reshuffle. As the new Assistant Secretary, Broadbent becomes responsible not only for the Bureau of Reclamation but also for the venerable old U.S. Geological Survey and the Bureau of Mines, both research agencies. The reorganization puts all water and research programs for ground and surface water in the Department under one Secretaryship. "It gives water a higher profile at the Department," Depart-ment," an aide to Broadbent told Western Resources Wrap-up (WRW) on Dec. 27. This week, he said, Clark and Broadbent Broad-bent are on a flying inspection tour of the Colorado River. Robert A. Olsen, who has been Broadbent's deputy, becomes Reclamation Commissioner under the reorganization. As the holiday season rolls to an end, many travelers are returning from their vacations in the sun. According to two local travel agencies, agen-cies, the most popular places that Basin area residents take off for in the winter holidays are Hawaii and Mexico. Mex-ico. Another popular vacation is a cruise. According to Craig Curtsinger, Executive Ex-ecutive Travel, 90 percent of their travel requests are for Hawaii or Mexico. Mex-ico. Most of the vacation tours are booked in early October and November. He said that most of the people planning these trips leave the week before Christmas and return after the new year. Curtsinger said that one of the slowest weeks of the year for the travel service is the week between Christmas and New Year's. The reason for this is because during that week most people have already left on vacation or haven't returned yet. Doris Ross, Frontier Travel and Tours, said that this is their busiest time of year. She said that most of the people peo-ple booking a vacation from the area also going to Mexico or Hawaii for the winter months, but that travel was not limited to these areas. Mrs. Ross said that because of the increase in out of town residents employed at the power plant or in oilfield occupations, many of them go home for the holidays. She said that one of the reasons that Mexico and Hawaii are so popular during dur-ing the winter is not just to escape the winter's freezing temperatures, but the temperatures in Mexico and Hawaii during the summer can make DG&T to receive first coal shipment The first load of coal that will be used us-ed to generate electricity at the Deseret Generation and Transmission (DG&T) Cooperative's Bonanza power plant will be brought in by private train Wednesday evening. Electric locomotives will be delivering deliver-ing the coal to the power plant site from the Deserado Coal Mine in western Colorado near Rangely. In the beginning the train will be making the deliveries in evening hours because of problems with eagles resting on the lines. According to Clarin Ashby, manager of Deseret Administrative Services, a test run to the plant will be made in the early morning hours of Jan. 4. The train will leave the Deserado site at approximately approx-imately 12 midnight and travel to the plant site, which is about 38 miles, and then return to Colorado. Ashby said that there will no coal hauled during the test run. Later that evening at about 7 p.m. the first coal run will made. The train will travel to the plant site loaded with three coal cars and approximately 30 empty cars. Ashby said that the reason for the empty cars is to test the effectiveness of the automatic unloading system at the plant site. After arrival at the plant the cars will be unloaded, to test the conveyor system. The coal is either piled on the plant site or in a 200-foot coal silo. From the silo the coal is conveyed to a crusher which reduces the coal to pea size or the inch and three-four size coal can be put directly into one of the five pulverizers, which turns the coal into a powder. The conveyor belts can carry approximately 3100 tons of coal at a time. Thursday the first full train load will come in. At this time further tests will be made on the conveyor system and the storage pile will be started. The plant hopes to have a storage pile of 120 days by the time the plant is fired up, which is scheduled for next fall. The purpose of the stock pile is to have coal on hand in case there are times that the trains cannot run to the plant. Currently the train is scheduled schedul-ed to run five days of the week. Roosevelt woman takes overdose at city hall A 23-year-old Roosevelt woman was transported to the Ashley Valley Medical Center after taking an overdose over-dose of Valium at City Hall last Friday. Police report that the woman had business at the Police Department on the second floor. She later went to the restroom on the first room of the City Office Building. After an extremely long time in the restroom, other women in the front office became suspicious, said City Manager Kenneth Ken-neth Bassett. Police broke through the locked door and found the woman in an incoherent state. She was transported to Ashley Valley Medical Center where she was treated and released. sightseeing unpleasant. Another reason that the volume of travel in the area increases during the holidays is there is a large number of Ute Tribe members attending boarding boar-ding school in Phoenix. She said that many of the children return to the area just before Christmas and leave after New Year's. Brad Gale, Skywest, said that their travel load increases about 20 percent during the months of November and December. They are currently running runn-ing the same time schedule, but the planes are more full. Gale said that approximately 600 persons travel on the airlines during the month. He said that while passenger travel hasn't increased too much since the previous year, the amount of air freight has increased. Gale said that the air freight increase is due in part to the upswing in the oilfield business. W 9 if ' Tw I J LICENSE TO KILL Don Murray and Millie Perkins Per-kins portray a couple who must face the consequences ot his drunk driving when he kills a young girl in an accident in "License to Kill," a drama airing TUESDAY, JAN. 10 on CBS. CHECK LISTINGS FOR EXACT TIME 1984 Compulog Come in today for a loan you can bank on. fife , " $ ' ' ' " . ' y 1 - We've loosened the strings on loans. All kinds of loans at all 88 Utah offices. In the majority of cases, we can give you the prompt answer you need from the information you provide. Don't be timid. Come in and give us your ideas and needs for home improvements, improve-ments, automobiles, equity or businesses we want to help. See us for a loan you can bank on, today. FOrsIt Secy otv GBanrolks First Security Bank of Utah, N.A. First Security Slate Bank I"' Members FDIC twn wsmc LENDER Vacations in the sun |