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Show 172 16-2-F C 123199 UTAH PRESS ASSOCIATION 307 W 200 S KS005 SLC, UT 84101 Best of show -page 16 Feast tern 700 page 3 Utah economy grows ...page 13 -.page 14 SOAK In schoca . Utes dip Miners ..page 18 pages 21-22 Year 2000 Express online: www.vernal.com Single Copy 50 E WEDNESDAY, October 6, 1999 Vernal, Utah 84078 107th Year No. 40 22 Pages 'CR UT PRESORT Check Inside i i t w uiumuuiniu fa i iiiii ''m fir mi ii $1 million approved for rail study A $l million inclusion in the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill has been included for fiscal year 2000 for the development of a short-line railroad, linking the Uintah . Basin to the national rail system. "This railroad is a key element in improving the economy of the Uintah Basin," said Senator Bob Bennett (R-UT), "This railroad will lead to the development of four factories fac-tories and phosphate complexes which should help the unemployment unemploy-ment situation in this part of the state. It will also greatly reduce transportation impact on the local environment." Northeastern Utah and northwest-em northwest-em Colorado known since pioneer pio-neer times as the "Isolated Empire" contains vast deposits of natural resources, including the world's largest deposit of soda ash and the largest deposit of phosphate in the United States. Despite the wealth of natural resources, the Isolated Empire suffers from a consistently high unemployment rate, which is nearly three times the national average. aver-age. The State of Utah's Department of Community and Economic Development has been working with the local communities to develop a plan that will allow for the development of these natural resources. However, a key part of this economic development plan hinges on the ability to transport these resources to the national rail system line in Rifle, Colo. The Senate approved the Conference Report to the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill Monday this week. The House approved the measure last Friday. Last week Uintah County Commissioners opened bids from four engineering companies to conduct con-duct a study of the proposed railroad, rail-road, manufacturing facility and open pit mine. The phosphate mine is proposed for north of Vernal on state school trust land at Ashley Gorge. The bid for the study was awarded this week to a Denver company for $50,000 Stocking Aerial stocking of Utah's only native trout began Monday as 35 lakes in the Uinta Mountains were showered with fingerling Colorado River cutthroats. The fish, hatched at the Logan hatchery, were collected from a brood stock in Sheep Creek Lake. This week's stocking of the native fish is the beginning of an annual stocking program to re-establish a sport and natural populating fisheries fish-eries for the fish in the Uintas. The program began about 20 years ago with the identification of the subspecies. sub-species. "Before the subspecies was identified, identi-fied, it was believed that all cutthroats cut-throats were the same," said Chad DWR fisheries biologist Kurt Mullins and Doug Routledge, DWR, fill tanks in aircraft In preparation for planting of Colorado Cutthroats In High Uinta lakes. Pilot Stephen Biggs watches. Early morning fire hits downtown An early morning fire Wednesday, totalled the former A Boutique building at 45 South Vernal Ave. The fire cut power for an hour to much of downtown Vernal. Firefighters were not letting businessmen in their buildings until the fire was completely out. At 7:30 a.m. Wednesday John Kay said he was not allowed to go into his business on east Main Street. The fire delayed the delivery of this week's Vernal Express. Purpose of The Uintah County Commission has amended the bylaws for the governing board of Western Park after it was determined that they may be in violation of laws that fund the operation of the facilities. Western Park is funded through a one-tenth of one percent sales tax approved by the Utah Legislature for counties to support zoos, museums muse-ums and other facilities. To expand the focus of Western Park to fit the recommended funding, fund-ing, board members will be selected gives new Crosby, DWR fisheries manager for the Northeast Region. In 1995 DWR begin moving fish identified as Colorado Cutthroat to Sheep Creek Lake. The only w ay to positively identify a Colorado cutthroat cut-throat is through DNA. To most people they appear identical to the Yellowstone cutthroats which DWR has planted in the Uintas for a number num-ber of years. "During spawning, the male's belly is much redder on the Colorado Cutthroat 'than on the Yellowstone," Crosby said. "What we found is the Colorado cutthroat are much harder to raise in the hatchery," said Doug Routledge. hatchery biologist. ' V s 1 n if V - f -V Western Park expanded to represent areas of: Business and marketing, Horse, cattle and livestock show-related activities Chamber of Commerce, cultural cul-tural arts and museum related activities. activ-ities. Vernal City residents and the neighborhood of Western Park. Uintah County, including the county fair and local industry'. Uintah Recreation District The Board members are directed start to cutthroat Of the 200.000 eggs taken to the hatcher)', only 75,000 survived to become fingerlings. About 5.000 were given by the Ute Tribe for planting on the Reservation and 65.000 to 70,000 were stocked. At one time the Colorado River cutthroats were native to all drainages in the Uintah Basin. Spanish explorer Father Escalante reported camping near Strawberry River and catching a couple fish which were four to five pounds, Crosby said. "They were Colorado Cutthroats." Two Cessna 185s were uses to stock the Uinta lakes. Flying out of the Roosevelt Airport, they were able to stock selected lakes from ' I. acq O to use the facilities to benefit all community interests including those interests set forth by the composition com-position of the board and not to favor one interest over another. The board is to be a managing board, not just a policy-making board, said Commissioner Lloyd Swain. The current board has not met in a couple of months and commissioners com-missioners are hoping the new board will take a more active role in the day-to-day activities at Western Park. Dry Fork and Ashley Creek to Rock Creek. Prior to 1986, lakes in the Uintas were stocked with the Colorado River cutthroat, but they have not been stocked since because the Yellowstone cutthroat was thought to be a better species for the remote lakes. The reason for the switch to planting plant-ing the Colorado River cutthroats, besides being native to the area, is because it is listed as a sensitive, species, and biologists fear that if something isn't done, they will be placed on the endangered species list "Planting them in lakes across the Uintas. will help prevent them for becoming endangered,' said Walt Donaldson, DRW Northeast Region director. Listing the fish as endangered endan-gered would spark an onslaught of restrictions concerning the fish and what can and cannot be done to manage their habitat. Under the stocking program, there are no restrictions on sportsmen legally catching the fish. Aerial stocking of the fish is effective because studies show that 95 percent per-cent survive the drop, said pilot Stephen Biggs. To achieve the 95 percent survival rate, the fish cannot larger than two inches, and the aircraft has to be close to the lake when the fish are dropped. The fish are stored in seven individual indi-vidual compartments inside the aircraft. air-craft. They are released from the bottom of the tricraft. During flight, oxygen is pumped into the holding tank to insure that the fish will be alive when they hit the water. ELW Finds ouo mniajjoir 5inrDpacft Fir inm feinretis A Bureau of Land Management environmental assessment for the introduction of black-footed ferrets in Coyote Basin in Uintah County finds no significant impact The release of the assessment starts a 30-day protest period for the proposed plan amendment The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Sen ice have proposed pro-posed to introduce the black-footed ferrets into areas believed to be their former range in eastern Uintah County. If the initial introduction is successful, additional transplants would be undertaken in following years. The Proposed Action was initially developed by the UDWR and refined by the Coyote Basin Steering Group. This group is an interdisciplinary team comprised of members of federal. Tribal, state and local governments as well as representatives from industry and special interests. Because the existing exist-ing Book Cliffs Resource Management Plan is silent on black-footed ferret introduction, it w as decided that a plan amendment was also required. The EA will also serve as the document to amend the existing Resource Management Plan. The introduction would be under Section lOj of the Endangered Species Act (ESA)and would classify clas-sify the introduced population as "nonessential -experiment.' The provisions of Section lOj allow for more flexible management of the animal and ease the more stringent requirements for consultation under the ESA. In 1998, the Service prepared pre-pared a draft rule and EA for lOj designation in part of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming that was distributed dis-tributed for public review and comment com-ment In October, 1998, the Serv ice published a final Vule in the Federal Register that designated both Uintah and Duchesne counties as covered by Section lOj an area for possible black-footed ferret introduction. intro-duction. The area for the introduction is 51,567 acres and is predominantly federal land 87.7 pereent administered adminis-tered by the BLM. 11.8 percent state trust land and .5 percent private. pri-vate. "Based on the analysis document I&esndents asked to donate ponds Utah landowners who own ponds in Duchesne, Grand or Uintah counties may be eligible to receive funds for the use of their ponds to help recover native fish. Ponds will be used to allow razorback sucker fingerlings raised in hatcheries to grow to 8 to 10 inches before returning the fish to their native river habitat. This procedure could improve the fishes ability to survive. Razorbacks are one of four endangered fish species native to the upper Colorado River and are protected by the Endangered Species Act "We're looking for ponds anywhere any-where from one to 30 acres in the Ashley or Grand valleys in Utah," said Dave Soker. land acquisition coordinator for the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program. "We will pay landowners for the use of their ponds" Five-year leases are available on ponds that meet the criteria of depth, five to 30 feet, removal of non-native fish, location above the 10-year flood plan and road access. Pond owners relinquish the right lo control the fish in the ponds for the period of the lease. ed in the EA, I have determined that the proposed action would not result in significant impacts to the human environment and an Environmental Impact Statement is not required," said Douglas Koza, acting state director for the BLM. Based on scoping and preliminary analysis of the potential alternatives, alterna-tives, two alternatives were considered consid-ered for detailed analysis: No Action and the Proposed Action on additional alternatives was considered consid-ered and rejected. That alternative would have been to reintroduce ferrets fer-rets into Coyote Basin without evoking the less stringent requirement require-ment of Section lOj. This alternative alterna-tive was rejected because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service felt that local opposition would have been too great and me probability of success suc-cess would be greatly diminished. The State of Utah and Uintah County also expressed that they would withdraw their support for the introduction and protect the planned release if lOj were not evoked. Public scoping was conducted as part of the assessment and issues of particular concern that were identified included impacts to state private and Tribal lands and tlx fear of additional restriction tc commodity production in the area. "Impact to state, private and Tribal lands were not found to be significant because Section lOj of the ESA allows for the relocation of animals should they be found on non-federal lands and the ow ners or land managers request their remov al." Koza said in the EV Impact to commodity production were not considered significant because of the small amount of additional requirements that could be imposed on industry as a result of the introduction. The EA considered the degree in which the Proposed Action is consistent con-sistent w ith land use plans and control, con-trol, any irreversible or irretrievable commitment of resources, and any undue or unnecessary env ironmcn-tal ironmcn-tal degradation. "None of these factors w ere found to be significant." Koza said. Existing fish populations in the ponds are removed because they could prey upon the fingerling-sie fingerling-sie razorback and compete w ith them for food. Once the fingerling razorbacks are placed in the ponds, they are left to fend for themselves on natural nat-ural food. These "grow-out" ponds act as a halfway house for the fish to help them w ith the transition from the hatchery environment envi-ronment to the wild. After one growing season, the fish w ill be netted and stocked into the Green and Colorado rivers. Rearing native fish in leased ponds is less costly than building new hatcheries, hatch-eries, believe coordinators of the program. The Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program is a cooperative program involving federal and state agencies, agen-cies, environmental groups and water and power-user organizations organiza-tions in Colorado, Utah and. Wyoming. Its purpose is to recover recov-er endangered fish w hile allow ing development of water resources for human uses. To apply for the pond leasing program, call the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Vernal at 789-0354, ext. 20. Poor Copy! 1 vr |