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Show Visit us on the World Wide Web http:www.ecprogress.com Emery County l0lf 10 6: Home Grown News Since 1900 Tuesday, January 29, 2002 Volume 102 Castle Dale, Utah Conference Number 50$ 5 INSIDE focuses on rangeland challenges By PATSY STODDARD Staff, Emery County Progress A Rangeland and Livestock Conference sponsored by the Utah Farm Bureau Federation and Utah State University Extension presented New Challenges on Utah Rangelands on Jan. 21 and 22 in St. George. Leland Hogan, Utah Farm Bureau Federation president welcomed everyone to the conference and gave an overview of the presentations to come in the two day conference. We are here to look for solutions and we can accomplish a lot together when we meet as a group, said Hogan. The first item to bring a greater understanding to those present was the showing of the Understanding Public Lands Video narrated by Senator Bob Ring Those Bells Lifelong resident recalls history of bells in the county 5A. Bennett. This video described how pub- lic lands are managed and which agency has jurisdiction over what land. Utah is more than three fourths public land. The forest service manages eight million acres, national parks, two million acres, Natural resources and state parks, two million and the Bureau of Land Management is responsible for 42 million acres. SITLA also holds responsibility of managing their lands for the school children of Utah. Each entity told a little about their public land and Its uses. The director of the forest service described the forest as multiple use with timber, watershed, recreation and grazing among its uses. The national parks director said the parks are for enjoyment and they are managed to remain unimpaired. The Department of Natural Resources stated its mission as to conserve, protect and develop, with regards to water and wildlife. The BLM manages lands for use and enjoyment. Bennett described all the public lands as belonging to the public. He stressed the fact that there is nowhere else to go. We need to protect the land we have and not abuse it. He then went on to describe some of the laws that have been enacted for land management the National Environmental Policy Act and FETMA, as well as others. These laws Continued on PAGE 3A. Local Fire chief recognized for community efforts 4A. BRIEFLY Advisory council seeks nominations The areas outlined in blue would be the boundaries of the proposed national monument ' rv rr Photo by Patsy Stoddard Kathleen Clarke, national director of the Bureau of Land Management, talks with a visitor to the conference. New BLM director attends conference By PATSY STODDARD Staff, Emery County Progress Newly confirmed Bureau of Land Management director, Kathleen Clarke 6poke at the Rangeland and Livestock Conference on Jan. 21 in St. George. The conference was sponsored by the Utah Farm Bureau Federation and Utah State University Extension. Clarke said, I am a Utah girl with a great affinity for farmers and ranchers and I consider them the salt of the earth for their values and character. We have a generation of children who . have lost touch with the land. They think milk comes from the store. I went to Utah State University. I started out in law school but I didnt like the competition so I went into land I worked with Jim Hansen in the early 80s and rode the land and the range. Ranchers were just beginning to feel the impacts of the management. Continued on PAGE 3A. -- (POOR A San Rafael National Monument Emery County leadership and the public lands council make a bold proposal to have the president declare the San Rafael Swell a national monument By JAMES as;? MVP L DAVIS Editor, Emery County Progress A near capacity crowd gathered at the Museum of the San Rafael on Saturday to hear the Emery County Public Lands Councils latest proposal to protect the San Rafael Swell. After years of failed efforts to pass a San Rafael bill for the management of the area the council suggested that perhaps the best way to protect the Swell might be in having President George W. Bush declare it a national monument. Governor Mike Leavitt, Senator Mike Dmitrich and a representative of Congressman Chris Cannons office were all in attendance at the public meeting to voice their support for what Governor Leavitt termed a bold proposal. This is a very bold action. This is the kind of thing that changes the map forever. I have studied very carefully the process thats being proposed and I am persuaded that it can be done and I am persuaded that if this community decides that this should be done, then now is the time, Governor Leavitt said. The more than 200 people in attendance for the meeting listened carefully as Wes Curtis and Dennis Worwood of the lands council detailed the actions the county has taken in the past to protect the San Rafael. Twice the county has attempted to have a piece of legislation passed to protect local interests for land management of the San Rafael. The first time was in 1998 and, according to Curtis, it was our local recipe for land management." The bill was met with a firestorm of protests and was pulled from the floor of the House. The second piece of legislation was sent forward in 2000 and in that version the county made some compromises in hopes if environmental groups wouldnt support the legislation then they would at least not oppose it. This bill was also met with protest and was pulled from the floor of the House after it had been amended to the point where county leadership no longer felt that the people of the area would Continued on PAGE 10A. How the monument would work The proposal for a national monument would encompass 621,000 acres of the Swell and the language of its management would harken back to the 1998 legislation that Emery County citizens agreed upon in a series of public meetings. The monument would be managed by the Bureau of Land Management, not the National Parks Service. There would be no federal reserve water right and the state of Utah would continue to manage and administer wildlife as if the monument did not exist. The monument would be wilderness neutral and wilderness study areas in the San Rafael would remain intact. Only Congress can designate wilderness areas. There would be established a monument advisory council with local representation. A monument management plan would be established within three years of its designation with local and state input. Wildlife in the monument would continue to be managed and administered as if the monument did not exist. There would be no federal reserve water right in the monument. The primary purpose of the monument would be to protect historic objects in the Swell. The monument would be visitor friendly and accessible and allow for multiple use. Boundaries of the monument would include the Dinosaur Quarry. Travel in the monument would reflect the Bureau of Land Management Travel Plan for the San Rafael, which is expected to be released in February. In regards to roads and travel in the Swell, Commissioner Randy Johnson said: There are only a few roads we differ philosophically with the BLM on and that can be taken care of administratively." In regards to grazing nothing in the proclamation would effect existing permits and the BLM would operate as if the monument did not exist as far as grazing was concerned. Funding for the management of the monument would come from the federal government with no increase in taxes or requirement for matching funds from the county. There would be no air quality standard change for the county with the establishment of a monument. Public comments for the proposal will be accepted at it moves through the process. Due to the resignation of one of its members, Utah residents with an interest and background in commercial, recreation or oil and gas development are being sought to fill a vacancy on the 1 5 person Resource Advisory Council. The person selected will serve out the remaining balance of a three year term that will continue through September 2003. Nominees will be evaluated based on their experience or knowledge of the geographic area, education, training, and their experience in working with disparate groups to achieve collaborative solutions. All nominations must be accompanied by letters of reference from represented interests or organizations, a completed background nomination form, as well as any other information that speaks to the nominees qualifications. The Bureau of Land Management will forward the nominations to the Secretary of the Interior who will make the appointment to the Council. Anyone interested in requesting a nomination form should contact Special Programs Coordinator, Sherry Foot, Utah State Office, BLM, 324 South State Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84 1 1; or phone or 1 539-402-1. Cleve-land-Llo- All nomination forms must be received no later than close of business Fbb. 15. Historical pictures of Ferron sought The Old Mill Camp, the Fbrron Chapter of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers will sponsor a commemorative afghan in honor of the 125th Anniversary of its founding. If you have pictures of the old mill, the swinging bridge, or the original Fbrron Mercantile, the Old Mill Camp is looking for old photographs of these or any other old buildings or places that were important to Ferrons history. These photos will be re- produced and used on the afghan. If you have photos and would be willing to let the DUP use them for this project, the photos will not be damaged and they will be returned to you. Those interested in helping with the project can contact Irene Williams or Jo Sanscvcro at The plan is to have the afghans available bv Memorial Dav. 384-264- 8. 4 |