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Show THE ZEPHYRMAY 1991 PAGE 24 the public lands watchdog For Your Information your next hike, bike ride, kayak trip, drive or climb, you may wonder who this manages great stuff you are walking, peddling, paddling, riding or Jamming past Maybe you even want to find out If there is any development planned for your favorite On all spot You can. Most of the land In southern Utah Is managed by the Federal Government the landlord for one third of the Nation and about 35,000,000 acres In Utah (a fraction over 66 of the State). The next biggest title holder around Moab Is the State of Utah. The State generally owns four scattered square miles out of every 36 mile block, and holds large chunks of land In the La Sals, around the Potash mine area and In the Book Cliffs. to the south The State also controls big bites of road frontage on Highway 163 from end of Spanish Valley. Maps showing land ownership can be found at the Moab District office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) (the office Is located at 82 East Dogwood, off Main Street at about 700 South). These maps are everfcolor coded- - purple for the National Park units, green for the Forest Service, yellow for the BLM (there Is a lot of yellow, about 22 million acres worth), white for private land and blue for Utah State land (AKA "the blue rash). For this article, Ill limit the discussion to the BLM areas. The BLM controls those tracts In the western United States which were left over after every body else, Including the other federal land agencies, got first picks. The Governor of Utah even declined to accept ownership of these lands In the 1930s. It wasnt until 1976 that Congress got around to Informing the BLM that these lands would be kept In public ownership. It took awhile for the American public to realize that some of our greatest natural treasures are administered by the BLM. The Moab District BLM office oversees four Resource Areas, each with Its own which cover San Juan, Grand, Emery and Carbon counties. You can find out office, Is what happening In these areas by visiting the Moab District Office and asking the kind people at the front desk for the location of the public notice list which Is supposed to be updated every Monday. The Moab District Is Instituting a new public notice system, and there are glitches at times- - be sure you get the most current update. If you have followed these suggestions, you now hold a thick packet with brief If you are Interested In an area around 70 for actions. about descriptions proposed Moab, thumb through until you find "Grand Resource Area under the Office Location column. Hey, this Is easier than you expected. The BLM people are friendly and In your hands Is the Information you seek. But there Is a catch. Say you want to know about something described as "RUN 6 MILES OF CONVENTIONAL SHOTHOLEDRILL SEIS LINE under the Proect Description column. The document tells you this action will take place In Township 29 Range 21 East In Sections 11,13,14,15,23,24,18, and 19. That does It, you skipped out on math somewhere after algebra, gave up your plans to be an engineer, and here In your adult form are faced with all these numbers. Sit down. Take a breath. If you are not sure about how to read legal land descriptions give me a call at 0. Its pretty simple- - really. Now look at the State map conveniently placed nearby on the District Office wall for your use. Identify where the action will take place. Still Interested In the project? Give the person listed as contact a call (the phone number and name are -70 259-544- provided for this very purpose) and request that the agency send you a copy of the environmental assessment (EA) prepared for the proposal (you need to follow up your request with a letter). It may be relevant to ask why the proposal Is needed, who will pay for It, when a decision will be made, and what planning documents already exist which will be used to make a decision. Check the public notice list and determine how many days you have after the EA Is released to submit written comments (the number Is found under the "review days column). A 0 means you wont be permitted to comment on the EA at all. On the recent list only 12 of the 63 listed proposals were slated for public comment If your proposal lists 0, ask the agency to provide some time-- they should. Have a little spine here- - remember these are your public lands. Besides, regulations require the agency to encourage public Involvement to the "fullest extent possible. And the staff person responsible likely will appreciate any Information or comments you may have. Remember, you have a right to review the EAs even If you Just want to find out what Is happening out there on your land. It Is Important to keep talking to the staff person Involved to keep track of the It moves through planning phases. The public notice list Isnt always correct as project For example, the April 1st public notice list stated that an environmental assessment was being prepared for the 6 miles of seismic line mentioned above (and no decision can be made until the EA Is finalized). In fact the decision to allow the action had already been made and explosives were In place waiting for detonation. So you've tracked a proposal, perhaps one to build an enclosed performing arts center up In the Sand Flats area. You've told the agency It makes more sense to build the center down In Moab. You have suggested that this proposal doesnt seem to be one of the multiple uses for which the BLM land Is supposed to be managed. And yet somebody decides to construct It In the wrong place anyway. What do you do now? That will require a future article. But with your Involvement you may have Instead saved your special spot Public Involvement Is handled differently for livestock management If you are concerned about grazing In your favorite riparian area, call the Resource Area office (for 3) the Moab area, and ask a range conservationist which allotment Is Involved. Then write a letter which: 1). says you are concerned about the management of livestock grazing on that allotment, 2). describes your past use of the area andor need for use of the allotment In the future, 3). states how grazing could affect your Interest In the area by lessening your enjoyment of the area, and 4). request "affected Interest status. If you basically say that cow pies offend your sensibilities while hiking In that allotment, you should be considered an "affected Interest. Once you are granted this title, which will no doubt Impress your friends, you should be notified on future grazing use on that allotment and have the opportunity to throw In your own views. If you are not granted this status, please give me a call. You have a right to examine the pertinent grazing file at the administering BLM resource area office whether or not you are an "affected Interest. Frequently a proposal which affects the environment of our BLM lands Is Interests. approved without a single comment from someone with Your efforts, even If a bit unpolished, have a real chance of making a difference. 259-819- tive Scott Groene Moab office of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance ...and the river gods cried Uke a once again pregnant unwed mother who already has a half dozen kids, our has again failed to "Just say no. This one slipped through and It hurts. BLM Issued a commercial permit for an unlimited number of upstream motorized boat trips on the "Dally. Upstream, motorized, commercial, unlimited. They can roar up and down the "Dally, from Just above Whites Ranch all the way up the Colorado to the Cisco launch area and back down again. And again. And again. They're allowed to race up and down every rapid and riffle even If other river parties are present No consideration has been shown by BLM for all the other people who are out on the river enjoying the peace and quiet and scenery. Sure, some other companies use motors going down the river, but the Impact from downriver motorized use Is drastically less than the Impact from upstream use. This permit allows the company to buzz back and forth past other parties on the river. To understand how much greater the Impact Is, consider this analogy from If youre driving an average traffic. highway speed on a highway, even though there may be lots of other cars In your lane, youre all going the same direction and about the same speed, and Its only relatively Infrequently that cars actually catch up to each other and have to pass. However, for cars going opposite directions, all vehicles end up going past each BLM other picture the oncoming traffic lane at night with their headlights constantly shining In your eyes. Again, this permit was Issued without any use limitations or allocation maximum. It If you dont bother at least a minimum number contains a minimum use level (Actually of people, youll lose your permit) This might not be quite so aggravating. If we did not already have a huge, motor boat mecca, built at enormous taxpayer expense where the motor sport folks can go to roar around and party Lake Powell. Already there are commercial motorized downstream all operations on the local stretches of the Colorado and Green rivers, Includng Westwater, Cataract Labyrinth, and the Grand. How about Just one quiet stretch for canoeing and floating, so that people can view wildlife or simply enjoy the river? BLM did add one stipulation that acknowledged how unpleasant this new use might be. The company Is supposed to avoid launching at times that might affect other commercial float trips. If youre bothering someone whos making money, thats serious. But If youre Just bothering those private river runners, who are out there on their own, not paying to haul them down the river well so what? The BLM doesnt care. The standard If youre "turning tricks and making a few bucks, thats what counts prejudice the other folks can Just stay home, or shut up. While this mistake happened awhile back. It will reappear. If any of you are bothered by the prospect of unlimited, upstream, motorized commercial use, please call me at or drop me a note with your name and address to CVSR Box 1903, Moab, Utah 84532, and Ill put on a list for more Information the next time this Issue surfaces. 259-51- 15 Jack Campbell i |
