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Show THK SAN JUAN RECORD Wednesday, October 1, 2003 - Page 6 Brent The rest of the ATV story The San Juan Record welcomes letters from our readers. Letters to the Editor must be: No more than 350 words Signed Include the authors address and phone number The San Juan Record reserves the right to edit letters for length, clarity and to eliminate libelous or tasteless 'The Ban Juan V,ecori HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER FOR SAN JUAN COUNTY UTAH SINCE 1915 AN AWARD WINNING NEWSPAPER Publisher - Editor BILL BOYLE Office Manager TERRY CRAMER D.D.S. Dear Editor: San Juan County is the largest county in the State of Utah in terms of land mass, about 5.2 million acres. However, it is also one of the smaller counties in terms of population; poverty in some instances approaches that of a third world country and for many years, the county has been ranked as one of the very poorest counties in the nation. Some parts of the county have almost 50 percent unemployment. Agriculture, ranching and mining have made up the mainstay of the economy in the past. And with the exception of mining, ranching and agriculture are still a very stable part of the economy. At the present time, government at federal, tribal, state and local levels is the largest employer in the county. The county has one National Park, one National Recreation Area, and two National Monuments. Tribal, federal and state land comprise about 92 percent of the land base, with only about eight percent private land. The two major population centers in the county are Blanding and Monticello, with a few smaller communities such as Montezuma Creek, Bluff, Mexican Hat and La Sal. San Juan County has some mineral and oil and gas reserves, but uranium mining seems to be a thing of the past. Oil and gas plays are about depicted, and other potential mineral development seems to be too remote for development. That leaves San Juan County precious few opportunities for economic development. Many say tourism is the answer. We agree! Recreation and tourism do have.1 some1 possibilities in our county. We see an opportunity to develop recreation on many fronts. Crane! Gulch, Dark Canyon Wilderness and Fish and Owl Canyons are exceptional areas for backpackers to come1 and enjoy their activity. The BLM is looking at the possibility of developing equestrian trails in parts of the county. The San Juan River is popular with river runners in rafts and kayaks. Wilderness advocacy groups would like to see the county made into a giant wilderness area. an Recently, the cities of Monticello and Blanding decided to All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) event in the county. Working carefully with BLM, Forost Service, National Bark Service, State Trust Lands and private land owners, a proposal was made to the agencies to create a tourism event known as the San Juan Safari. The agencies involved carefully assessed the event and, with input from the public, determined that the impacts created by the event wen1 not significant to warrant a full blown Environmental Impact Statement. It must he noted that all route's being proposed for the event were on roads and trails open for general public use. None ran through designated Wilderness Study Areas. 'File host cities asked for permits that would allow a maximum of 350 riders for three days spread over 16 route's with a maximum of 15 rielers anel three guieles per trail per day. All routes em BLM lanels are mute's that are asserted by the county as legitimate roaels. After memths of preparation, the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. FMrest Service, National Park Sendee anel State Trust Lands issued host city Monticello the inelivielual permits for the event. Now comes along the Southe'rn Utah Wilelerness Alliance, whose comments hael been consielereel anel evaluateel by the agencies, along with all others in the evaluation pmcoss, anel in 2003 files for an injunction anel request for stay of the actiem before the Office of Hearings anel Appeals, Interior Beiarel of Lanel Appeals. Prior to the request for injunction, both the Salt Lake lYibune anel Deseret Morning News teiok issue with the Safari anel generally sideel with SUWA. Given the outcome of events since1 the faileel appeal, we feel that the newspapers shoulel print the re'st of the story. In a short sentence, the Southe'rn Utah Wilelerness Alliance's appeal anel mejuest for stay was elenieel. The' reason for the denial in the Aelministrative Law Judges worels was, "BLM elid properly consider t host issue's in light of the multiple' use mandate of FLPMA. The case record supports its deci-sieto issue an SRP heire. Although SUWA alleges that use of these trails for the purpeises appmveel by BLM will damage the lands anel riparian areas, little proof is eiffereel on these points. The judge geies on to say, "We fine! no likelihood that SUWA will prevail on the merits of its claim that BLMs derision will result in degradation of wilderness values. The judge then goes em to deny the request for stay. Now, having said all that, here is the beittemi line. We believe that everyeme can and should have due process. However, we believe that some organizations attempt to thwart, bully, anel intimidate those who disagree or have desires other than their own. They use the legal system to challenge every issue, whether meritorious or not, hoping that proponents will give up in frustration. We applaud the administrative law judge in seeing through the smoke and mirrors put up in this case and upholding the decision of the land management agencies involved. We applaud the agencies for the courage to fairly assess the issues at hand and make an informed choice. We applaud those who have taken time to put the event together. Many thousands of volunteer hours were donated by citizens of San Juan County to make this event hapco-ho- st Paste-u- - p Ad Design Office Assistant ANDREA MONTGOMERY Proofreader DAWN BOYLE Office Assistant JULIANNA REDD Writers NELL DALTON MAXINE DEETER MARY LOU HOGGARD LEO PLATERO GARY TORRES TERRI WINDER News Writers ANNA THAYN PHIL MUELLER SCOTT BOYLE PHONE & FAX 435-587-22- 77 IL frontiernet nel sjrnews San Juan County Outside County - USA APO or FPO address $18 $26 $26 50c $17.50 $25.50 Newsstand Sr Citizen Sr Out of County To have a sample copy sent to a friend, send us his or her address. Write to PO Box 879, Monticello, UT 84535. Copyright, The San Juan Record, 2003. All rights reserved. Reproduction, reuse or transmittal of all matter herein is prohibited without prior written permission by the publisher. ISSN 0894-327- 3 weekly at Monticello Utah Mam, 49 South Published Periodical postage paid at Monticello, Utah ) (ISSN0894-327384535 Postmaster: Send all address changes to P.O. Bo 879. Utah 84535. The Monticello, of San Jjan Rercrd is a men-ibe- " e Utah jhorai f,-- Ptss Ass'-'O- i Ass r i' - mi a1-- J pen. that San Juan County has the opportunity to have a broad of recreation uses including hiking, backpacking, horse use spectrum ATV oh events as well. and, yes, Lynn Stevens, Chairman, San Juan County Commission Scott Pehrson, Mayor, Monticello City Calvin Balch, Mayor, Blanding City We believe Thur o Oct 2 Matchstick 6 Men (PG-1- o 7:00 3) o oct Fri-Th- ur & Family Dentistry 3-- 9 Open Range Orthodontics 2nd East Blanding, Utah 0 (435) 212 South 678-344- (R) o 7:00 Monday: Family night $3 each Closed Sun & Wed Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician Sports Physical $25 State law requires all incoming freshmen to have a physical exam Dr. Brett Crowley Dr. Rhett Maughan NtnRniONgQRtHpTICMSRORTSB LAMPLIGHT miel-Septemb- m SUBSCRIPTION RATES Johansen RESTAURANT L.t f e'l Alonticcllo October 10 Friday, Come meet new owners the Scott pm & Alexa Laws 4-- 10 We will be offering two great specials for the evening: Prime Rib $10.99 Fresh Atlantic Salmon with a topped Strawberry Mango Salsa $10.99 Chocolate Dipped Strawberries for everyone Now offering a full childrens menu Cafl Now for Reservations (435) 587-217- 0 |