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Show Page A9 - 'Slfre 3Ttmcg-f3Jttftcpgttft- -- Thursday, March 24, 2005 gtt BLM should consider adopting Red Rock Heritage proposal Letters from the People Killing the goose that laid the golden eggs Good news that SITLA is doing something to manage the ORV assault on lands near Moab. What a shame that federal agencies are so reluctant to protect our nations natural heritage. When we began the Sand Flats Program back in 1994 we soon learned that 90 percent of the k damage to the land came in a period centered on Easter. But many local people believed the damage was caused by mountain bikers, and some merchants feared our efforts would cost them business. So we set up a program to manage ... ay use of the area that included frequent patrols and interactions with campers and other visitors. We also made a big effort to reach mountain bikers through statewide and national media. It worked. Before long bikers understood we were protecting the resource and the experience that brought them to Moab. Even though they were not the ones causing the bulk of the damage, they were glad to pay fees that were used exclusively to protect the land from misuse. Now, we seem to be facing the same kind of misperceptions, on a much larger scale. Too New Yorker loves Moab event I, many business owners seem to believe that the Moab economy is dependent on motorized recreation and that it is acceptable to sacrifice our natural heritage to grow the economy. People flock to Moab from all over the world for a glimpse of natures wonders. In spite of what it may seem this time of year, the vast majority of them do not participate in motorized recreis ation. For most of them, driving a means to see the scenery or access trailheads, not an end in itself. The small minority of people who come here specifically for driving or riding d is ruining it for all those who prize nature more than theme parks. And, as the Manti-L- a Sal National Forest has discovered, of those doing the most harm come commany with little reason to pletely spend money locally. If the merchants who think their short term gain is worth sacrificing the land would honestly assess who brings money to Moab they would discover they are killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. -- Craig Bigler two-wee- off-roa- self-containe-d, Moab nel, volunteers, drummers, Celtic band, blues ensemble, massage therapists and residents of Moab for making this so spectacular. -- Mary Lou DiNardo New York, New York Five-Mil- best-organize- d, Contamination should be cleaned up sooner rather than later In his letter to the of March 10, 2005, Dale Edwards, former safety coordinator for Atlas Corporation at the Moab mill, discusses the contamination at the southeast corner next to the Moab tailings impoundment. This contamination was discovered inl986 when Atlas was required to do a survey of windblown tailings contamination on and off site. A Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) inspection in the spring of 1986 had identified the presence of windblown tailings from the impoundment, and a Notice of Violation was issued. The windblown tailings were cleaned up in 1987, but windblown tailings continued to be a problem, as the pond on top dried up. On June 29, 1987, Atlas submitted an EnecoTech study of the southeast area contamination. The study determined that the contamination was in an area of approximately 6.6 acres, extending out 200 feet from the toe of the impoundment and 1,500 feet. long. The study concluded there were about 25,000 cubic yards of contaminated material, primarily at moderate depth, and was probably from an old tailings spill. In conclusion, the study stated that contaminated materials do not appear to be leaching to the water table because ground-wate- r data did not reflect an increase in uranium or radium-22- 6 concentrations, and that the contamination was not migrating. Whether this has been true over the last 18 years is an other question. The study recommended that the contaminated soils be left in place until final reclamation of the site. Finally, the report states that Atlas believed that additional groundwater monitoring in that area was not warranted. The NRC did not require Atlas to clean up the southeast contamination at that time. The NRC did require Atlas to clean up the southeast comer during reclamation, making it a condition of Atlass license. Further, the groundwater corrective action plan approved by the NRC did not require Atlas to implement a plan to cleanup the contamination already in the groundwater. It was not until the late 1990s that the NRC began to address groundwater cleanup at the site. During all this time massive amounts of contaminated water have continued to move from the impoundment into the groundwater, where it continues to seep into the Colorado River. The DOE estimates that the amount is 15,000 gallons a day. The Department of Energy is aware of the southeast comer contamination and other contaminated materials that must be cleaned up. Clearly, the southeast comer should be cleaned up sooner, rather than later, since it is a source of ground and surface water contamination. -- Sarah M. Fields Times-Independe- Moab Feds vote to take states rights on identification It isnt the terrorist destroying the American way of life, its the U.S. government, unless of course you consider the a terrorist. The Patriot Acts I and II have stripped us of our liberties. Now, last month, the House of Representatives, (Im not sure just who they represent anymore), passed an unconstitutional piece of legislation which will force all Americans to accept a national IDdrivers license. Those who refuse to accept this card will not be able to fly, take a train, and one day you will be unable to travel the roads and streets of this country without your papers, please! This bill establishes a huge database with your sensitive information to be shared with Canada and Mexico! U.S.-governmen- t . . . Congressman Ron Paul said, "supporters claim the national ID scheme is voluntary, however, any state that opts out will out of its automatically make citizens. This is unconstitutional, and not just because the federal government has issued a direct threat to the sovereign states of the union and their citizens,, but the drivers license and state identification cards are an always have been the domain of the states under the Tenth Amendment. All state independence is being crushed under this draconian piece of Nazi-styl- e crap! Only someone with their heads in the sand cant see whats coming. Dont be ignorant of the devices of the devil. -- Linda Cunningham Cedar Point, Utah non-perso- Republican budget being pushed through congress It seems that not a day passes anymore without more news of the ways in which the Republican Party with Bush at the head is bludgeoning the American people with its agenda. Now it is the budget they want pushed through without debate, and with a rider attached to allow drilling for oil in the Arctic Refuge. Crying, screaming, and protesting do no good. Schwarzenegger dismisses the people who are suffering as special interests. Yes, we all have special interests in a future for our children, a future for this planet. When are we going to wake up and realize that our government has been taken over in a coup of true special . . . interests, interests whose bottom line is their bloated pockets!? This is a cruel time, a time when it is difficult not to get angry. How long are we, the people, going to allow corporations to take over and control our government while our beautiful education system, our health system, our protections for the poor and elderly are all dismantled and the profits pocketed by the obscenely rich? It is time to take a stand to say we wont allow this anymore! -- Marcia Tendick There is no doubt that the former CAO of Moab Community School deserves acknowlegement for her diligence and efforts to get the charter started. As well, there have been many dedicated individuals who volunteered long hours to keep Moab Academy, and now MCS, functioning. I would also like to thank all of you who served as board members, staff and volunteers but have since, for whatever reasons, ended your relationships with MCS. However great these tasks have been we can not ignore the facts in the audit report, and the comments made by the public. The comments showed me how passionate this community is about our children, education and ethics. I personally have dedicated Please excuse me for broaching an indelicate but important subject: Flatulence in church. This weekend, in the middle of church service, four guys started racing up and down the aisle, farting loudly. It created quite a spectacle, and they seemed quite smug about it. I couldnt believe it. Here I was, sitting in the House of the Lord, and having to endure the grossest and most obnoxious form of desecration imaginable. Talking about this incident afterwards, I learned that it was not an isolated event, many others have seen the same behavior in their churches in recent years. As a teacher Im aware that certain teenage boys find loud, public farting humorous. I also know that in college dormitories and fraternities lighting farts on fire is done for sport and entertainment. Whatever crude young men choose to do in private is their business. But I was taught as a child to muffle my emissions in church, and to excuse myself from the pew if any odor was forthcoming. Is it really so much to ask the same consideration from others? Im feeling like an old guy, wondering what has changed in America that farting so blatantly in church has become acceptable. Have shows like Beavis and Butthead and South Park changed American culture so dramatically that nothing is sacred and public Moab ol The Irish and Irish at heart came out on Thursday, March 17 for Moabs fifth annual St. Patricks parkway parade and potluck at St. Pius. The number of people who made this event is too vast to thank you all in a letter, and such lists are precluded by the letters rules, but you know who you are. All participants seemed to kick up their Moab desecration is becoming a favorite pastime of young men? I am deeply saddened that my church has attracted such despoilers, and am asking Moab citizens to take a stand with me against this odious and odorous new activity. Now, for the rest of the story.... My church is a cathedral-lik- e canyon close to Moab. For me it is the most sacred place on Earth, a place that inspires me to pray, meditate and seek divine guidance while listening to a choir of birdsong, accompanied by a babbling brook and breezes in the trees. The flatulence was coming from four unmuffled dirt bikes and OHVs. They filled the noise and canyon with obnoxious, fart-lik- e exhaust. When the riders smelly, fart-lik- e stopped to say hi they were nice young men who seemed quite pleased with themselves and their actions. So I am writing them, qnd all their kindred spirits in Grand County. Please think of what your reaction would be if you had to put up with four loud machines zooming up and down the center aisle of your church in a cloud of white smoke, and then try to understand how it angers and saddens me to have to put up with so much rude flatulence during my worship service in the House of the Lord outdoors. -- Damian Nash Moab heels and join in the Irish jig. Remember, we 5 p.m.; have set a tradition same time March 17; same place same date Rotary Park to Swanny Park on Millcreek Parkway; same drill parade then potluck. Fondly, from Love of the Irish, -- Charlotte Mates Moab Errors of fact in airport story are corrected appreciate your interest in helping the community understand the airport issues. Please publish the following corrections to the last article. I look forward to working with you again. Salmon Air is based in Salmon, Idaho I -- Not Boise. Moab and Vernal are both under the EAS (Essential Air Service) contract. There are days that 200 people pass between Salmon Air, through the airport Slickrock Air Guides, Redtail Aviation, Skydive Moab, and private planes. 70 percent of domestic visitors live east of Denver - The fly zone between 100,000 and 300,000. - It was with mixed feelings that I read the article in last weeks paper about management progress in the Sand Flats area. I was gratified to read that SITLA (State Institutional iVust Lands Administration) is taking steps to protect some of its lands from ORV abuse. This makes sense, since SITLA has a clear obligation to maintain the value of its land for the benefit of Utahs school children. I was dismayed to discover the numbers of those contributing to the damage. Over the years, ORV proponents have repeatedly claimed that it is just a few bad apples that are causing the damage. As reported last week, it sounded like those that stay on the established trails were in the vast minority. I am glad to hear that those committed to use are erecting fences, an maintaining unmistakable boundary to the trail. However, as a responsible trail user, being fenced in will ORV . . . Salmon Air is not the only company that has qualified enplanements - According to the FAA Slickrock and Redtail also qualify enplanements. (Each needs a commercial carrier base in order to qualify, however.) I do not recommend service to Montrose, Gunnison, and Durango 1 recommend service similar to their seasonal service. Thank you. -- Tom Russell Salmon Air (Editor's Note: Our thanks to you for sending along these corrections of fact in last weeks story about the airport. We aim for error-fre- e stories, but sometimes fall short.) -- BLM should take steps to preserve lands . . . limit the appeal to me of that trail. Additionally, it does not bode well for the rest of the backcountry around Moab, if fencing is what is ultimately necessary to control visitors. I hope that the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) takes steps to preserve some of our public lands for future generations, before they turn into dust bowls as well. The current BLM Resource Management Plan process is their big opportunity to do so, and with balanced proposals like the Redrock Heritage Plan gaining such huge support in the community (more than 4,000 individuals have endorsed it) their task is even easier. If, as Sering stated, the BLM wants to manage this for everyones use, it is important that they create blocks of land that have their biological and scenic integrity maintained, not just mitigate the most egregious damage. -- Kalen Jones Moab Letters Policy does not necessarily endorse the opinions published in letters to the editor and guest editorials. The T--l welcomes opinions from its readers concerning any subject pertinent to Southeastern Utah. Letters should be to the point and must include the writers name, address and telephone number. Letters may not be used to replace advertisements, or to list and thank sponsors or participants to a particular event. Letters to the editor will be not be accepted from any candidate who has filed for political office or from anyone writing in support of a filed candidate. Anything unsigned, of a libelous nature, or containing defamatory statements will not be considered for publication. All letters must be typed or legibly written, and be 400 words or less. Letters are subject to editing. Mail to Letter to the Editor, P.O. Box 129, Moab, Utah, 84532. Deadlinels Monday, 5 p.m. Letters may also be sent via to editormoabtimes.com or submitted on the website: www.moabtimes.com. The may not accept letters from persons who write more frequently than once every four weeks. Changes to letters to the editor after submission will be accepted only in the most extreme circumstances. The many long hours and would really like to see this school succeed. As diversified as Grand County is, we deserve choice, we need choice. There is no doubt that this school can fill a niche in our community. I am concerned for the future of MCS. There is a lot of hard work ahead to reorganize and maintain functionality, especially in the face of these past events and a possible negative reputation that has been attached to MCS. I ask that the community open its arms to MCS and offer support in any capacity. I believe this support will be accepted with open hearts, open minds, and souls. --Deanna King non-motoriz- ed Fifth Annual St. Patrick's Day parade a great success . . . Moab Community asked to reach out and support MCS . . . Resource Management Plan to preserve some lands for the future. I hope theyll seriously consider and adopt the Red Rock Heritage Proposal, which more than 4,000 people have endorsed. Its an excellent plan that allows for a balance between motorized and use of the land. I hope the BLM will take note of the public support for this proposal. I understand people with ORYs want to have fun. Lets designate areas for them to do their thing and at the same time protect some land from destruction. -- Mary Suarez Flatulence in church, wherever that may be . . . high-scho- . e The Canyonlands Half Marathon and Race are two of the competitive and fun sporting events in the country, staged in an exhilarating and beautiful setting. Everything was perfect. Thank you to all race person- - I was glad to see, in the 317 issue of the T-the article about SITLA (State Institutional Trust Lands Administration) closing two of its parcels to ORV use due to damage to the land. ORYs do degrade the land and some areas are so delicate and unique that they must be protected. Preserving our public lands is a good investment for future generations. In their efforts to be good stewards of public land, I hope that the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) will take note of SITLAs action. The BLM has an opportunity in the upcoming Times-Independe- nt ail Times-Independe- nt |