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Show Page B8 (Dir tTimr8-3nbrprmV- Thursday, February 14,2002 nt Application deadline for private school scholarships is fast approaching San Rafael Monument plan receives opposition from unexpected critic A fir-- plan, t hatched by F.mery County commissioners and later announced by Gov Mike Leavitt during his state of the state sjs-e- t h. would create a Sun Rafael Swell National Monument It would put 620, (KH) acres of h.ukcountry into a protected status under the care of the Hurenu of Land Management similar in some resa-ctto tfie Grand StairNational case- E sea Ian te Monument rested during the Clinton administration Follow nit Leavitt's announcement two weeks ago, s c Interior Secretary dale Norton said the- - proposal would receive serious consul eration from the Mush administration. licit prosss ts for the plan also suflered a setback when Rep Chris Cannon, whose district includes the Swell, said he opposes creating the monume nt by Presidential declaration, as Is'iivitl called for in his seech Norton on Monday praised the monument proosal as a local initiative with ample state uport. Hut, according to a recent article1 in the- Salt Lake lYihunc, she did not predict presidiiitial approval for designating a monument out of the public land that straddles Interstate 70 west of dream River in southeastirn Utah One of the things that is iniortant to this administration is having local input into the proceNH of creating monuments," Norton said in an in- pushed for Uu monument designation, which also has the at least endorsement I'tah Re ps Jim Hansen, a Republican, and Jim Matheson. a Demix rat Cunnon. however, said he opposed the monument be- duims, it would beof an abuse presidential jsiwe-under the 1906 Antiquities Act, the law under which a r can t national cre-at- monume-nt- s on "I've pretty what I think the luw is," said Cannon, an attorney who cle-a- r Is-e- loudly denounced former Preside nt Clinton's designation of the 1.7 million-acrGrand Staircase-Escalante e National Monument in 1996 The law is that you can only name a monument large to protcot the scientific and historical objects and that is small. Cannon supported legislation introduced by Hansen in the wake of the Grand Staircase monument declaration to limit national monuments to fi.OOO acres. The amount late-was expanded to 60,000 acrtN, but the bill still stalhd in Congress, Kvem under the current law, said Cannon, "I dont think you can legitimately do a presidential designation of more than fi0,(KK) acres. I hoe what the president will do here is take the projsisal and refine it and then propose legislation. With a tract this size, you need to do it legislatively." r Mansion following a panel discussion on environmental policy. "We appreciate the state and local officials being involved in suggesting it. Now, we want to lesik at this from the federal perse-ctive.Emery County commission" ers have enthusiastically w as caught and buried by an avalanche last weekend near Skyline Drive at the top of Hunting-toand Fairview Canyons In central Utah. He was quickly rescued by his buddy, who saw a hand and part of a helmet sticking out of the snow. Tins is the first rejxirtod avalanche incident of the season on the Manti l.a Sal Na tional Forest. Roth were experienced riders equipped with avalanche rescue beacons They were engaged in a form of activity known as side hilling" in which a rider tries to maintain a line w hile traversing across a steep slope The two were traveling spaced apart which resulted in only one of them being caught Avalanche Forecaster Craig Gordon attributed the slide to a combination of snow piled on top of a weak existing snow pack. Similar conditions are developing in the La Sal Moun' tains of Moab though the load of snow destined to tip the scales has yet to arrive. The long dry spell this area has been experiencing has caused a gradual deterioration of the snow pack, creating a weak type of snow crystal known as r n "depth hoar surprised and somewhat Scholarships are still the by congressmans opposition. did not know that he was going to take that position," available for children entering grades K-- to attend private school during the academic year, but the deadline for applications is fast approaching. Children First Utah, a priorgavately funded, 8 1 2002-200- Johnson said, adding that Cannon previously had sent the commission a letter sup- porting the proposal. I am concerned about Congressman Cannons position, and were going to have to talk with him," Johnson said, But were going to survive this. I dont see its going to change what Emery County is going to do here." Legislation to protect areas of the rugged San Rafael Swell have failed in the past and appear to have no better chance in the current Congress, said Johnson, w hile the Bush administration seems more sympathetic, We think this is a very appropriate use of the Antiqui-- t les Act" proposing the "minimal land necessary to pre- remains unconvinced. You violate the history and the spirit of the law by doing unythmg more than a nominal declaration, and then (the president should push it leg- islatively," said Cannon, who in 1998 unsuccessfully sponsored a bill to create a national conservation area out of the same San Rafael land. While winning congressional approval of a new ands preserve may be more difficult than persuading the president to do bo w ith a stroke of his pen, it is the public-l- proper approach, insisted Cannon. Look, this is a horrible problem this puts me in because I believe we would get non-prof- it nization, will award more than 300 scholarships to help famichildren in lies attend the private school of their choice. The scholarlow-inco- ships pay Wes of the f who wish to receive scholarship funds for their children must apply before March 9. All children who qualify for free or reduced lunch programs qualify for the scholarship pool. Scholarship recipients will be chosen by lottery. Applications are available at all Zions Bank loca- online tions, or call (801) 363-094- 6. Sunhoria? c. nrch - Moab, Utah zuooz." Flsmiwg torch ilUowiwattt fvwrl tteater with eawyew. rid La Sal Mountain bacMrop at Moosvflowgr Mflrtedt gallery -- - east too North Curtis, Leavitt's state planning coordinator, agreed. The fact remains that this is on the books and it gives the president certain powers, and it has been exercised many times in the past," said Curtis. There's no reason to think it cant happen again." appropriate." Emery County Commissioner Randy Johnson said he ministration, has publicly praised the new San Rafael Monument proposal, announced publicly in Leavitt's Jan. 28 address. ie said last month the plan "follows the letter and the 1 d or "faceted grams It is commonly known as "sugar snow. Sugar snow, or depth hoar, causes a weak layer within the snowpack. New snow, especially snow transported by wind, piles up putting stress on buned weak layers. This stress eventually causes the weak layer to collapse or fail resulting in an avalanche. Of- ten times, the underlying weak layers barely support V II I 0 the overriding load of snow, and the trigger causing it to release comes in the form of a hack country traveler on skis or a snowmobile. "We have plenty of weak snow out there right now, all we are waiting for is a load" said Eric Trenbeath, ava- lanche forecaster from the US Forest Service Manti La Sal Avalanche Center (MLAC) II Despite the current low natural avalanches occurred in and around Gold Basin last week. They were the result of strong winds transporting snow and creating what is known as a snow conditions, two wind slab, which is essentially a wind drift. These wind slabs were too much weight for the weak snow underneath and so they avalanched on their own. "With much of our annual snowfall coming in February and especially March, conditions are setting up for widespread avalanching when significant snow finally comes," Trenbreath said. The USFS MLAC would like to remind winter backcountry users to call the snow, avalanche, and mountain weather advisory hotline before venturst ing out into the mountains. It is currently updated Thursday through Monday with midweek advisories posted if conditions warrant. The advisory can also be accessed on the O The NEW Moab FrontierPages serves up your business to customers ready to buy! The NEW FrontierPages is Moabs ONLY Officii Yellow Pages and the first place your customers look to shop and compare! Plus, weve also created a foci directory online for yog at www.FrontterPages.coni. fts the internet Yellow Pages everyone's talking about! 259-SNO- Internet ' 'V v LCL . ! s ini tMirOg;r.vt;yrti t.'v t at wuw.avalanche org and then by clicking on Moab. The MLAC also continues to offer fire avalanche education with programs geared specifically to For more information contact the Moab Ranger District at snow-mobiler- i, . a. 259-715- yrontierPGES lnt Its worth lok,n9 It I at www.childrenfirstutah.org, crcldt. Fra rKed Origlvvflt PflL'vtUvg serve important sites, said land with a monument designation. But I just think that our process is more important than the outcome, he said. "I'd rather see the process be one-hal- TDKcld Johnson. better management of that 3 childs yearly tuition up to a maximum of $1,700. Parents the monument-limitinlegislation during the Clinton ad- Central Utah avalanche may be preview of future conditions in the La Sals wind-loade- is disturbed Hansen, despite drafting terview at the Governor's A snowmobih-- Gannon he cause-, preside-n- pint of the Antiquities Act, which requires the identification of a ejMcific scenic, scientific or historic site and the use of the smallest acreage available to protect that site. Were doing precisely that and not an iota more." |