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Show PAGE 18 THE ZEPHYR APRIL 1992 NO TRESPASSING ON JEEP SAFARI TRAILS NO TRESPASSING ON SUCKROCK BIKE TRAIL NO TRESPASSING IN NEGRO BILL CANYON OUR INTERESTS THANK YOUR GRAND COUNTY COMMISSIONERS FOR PROTECTING BEYOND BELIEF??? beyond reality out for us. Like the Contrary Nothing is beyond belief with Manuel and Dave watching Warriors of the American Indian tribes, these luminaries are continually striding backwards into the future. By somehow keeping their gaze fixed on where they have been, they think they will be able to avoid the problems that are approaching in the future. Sort of like running badewards over rocky terrain; these poor stalwarts seem to be crashing into a lot of obstacles and falling off a lot of ledges. And our warriors seem to be collecting more and more cactus spines in that part of their anatomy which precedes their backwards dash. Even though most everybody in Grand County would benefit from the protection of these them. More RV parks, special places, our commissioners still want to sell them off and destroy curio shops, burger bams, motels and subdivisions, what "higher and better use could be imagined far an area as beautiful as the Sand Flats Road. Picture the 1 995 JEEP SAFARI as one of its trail leaders route finds his way through the "Fins and Things" El Rancho Estates, from convenience stores to gas stations, from house trailers to condominiums, the lucky partidpants get to see all the wonders of nature that our County Commissioners have long admired. by Jack Campbell JEEP SAFARI MOUNTAIN BIKERS HIKERS MAINSTREET BUSINESSES COUNTY COMMISSIONERS THREATEN JEEP SAFARI COUNTY COMMISSIONERS THREATEN SUCKROCK BIKE TRAIL JEEP SAFARI-MOUNT- AIN BIKERS-HIK- ERS CITIZENS BUSINESSMEN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS THREATEN MORNING GLORY ARCH We all have a strong common interest in protecting these lands. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS THREATEN DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES If SUWA or the Sierra Club were threatening a JEEP SAFARI trail, there would be immediate calls to battle. But when the County Commissioners propose to do the same, there has been On just one trip to Salt Lake Gty last December, our County Commissioners Dave Knutson and Manuel Tones did all of the above. dose down the "Fins and Things" Jeep Safari trail, dose part of die Slickrock Bike Trail practice loop, sell off Morning Glory Arch in Negro Bill Canyon; all of these are the direct consequences of the recommendation of our County Commissioners to the State Land Board. Last December Dave and Manuel spoke before the State Land Board in SLC and advised the Board to sell off the State Land sections on the Sand Hats Road, containing all of the above features. And for the Downtown Moab business people, the land up on the Sand Hats Road would be sold to other businesses that would compete and take customers away from the already existing businesses in Moab. Why weaken our still struggling Downtown businesses? nothing but dull minded acquiescense. and hamburgers, motel rooms and MOAB BUSINESS FOLK you are NOT selling customers are buying, the spectacular and You are selling, your pi 77a, RV Parks and showers. but for the scenery. While here for scenery around Moab. They are not here for your and pizza, and motel rooms. The more we trash the the scenery, they also buy file and Jeep tours, and motel rooms. for the customers to be find scenery, the harder it will And for those of us who want to live here, the public lands around us are why many of us came here. Regardless of whether we came here to four wheel drive, to hike the desert, to run the rivers, or simply to retire in some of the most beautiful country in the world, we have a stake in the lands around Moab. Much more of this is in jeapordy than we care to acknowledge. Our County Commissioners are acting against our common interest when they continue to destroy the beauty we came here to enjoy. STATE LAND5PRIVATE LANDS We still seem to be deceiving ourselves into thinking of State Lands as public lands where we have rights like public access. This could not be more false. State Lands should be viewed as private land held by a corporation which has the sole goal of maximizing its profits from these lands. Very few (if any) Federal laws regulate what this corporation does with its private property. That this profit is supposed to find its way to the public school systems is irrelevant to the practice of how this land is managed. And the disposal of these lands produces very little money for the school system (although it does pay a lot of salaries within the State Division of Lands and Forestry). Any public access to these State Lands must be purchased just as if the access was new access across someone's private lands. While the Division of State Lands has been renting trails to Jeep Safari organizers, it is in no way bound to continue this, and could cancel these agreements any time it wanted. When the Division of State Lands sells off land containing Jeep Safari trails, mountain biking trails, or hiking trails, it is not required to honor these previous uses. In fact it would be required to oppose them if the lands could be sold to another purchaser for more money without the easements. And how many private owners would buy land without putting up NO TRESPASSING signs when they have the legal right to do so. LEM INDIAN WHY? Economic naivete. They think that by selling off the State land up on the Sand Flats Road that we will increase the county tax base and make a positive economic contribution to the county. More and more studies are coming in from other parts of the country showing that the long term costs of this type of development usually outweigh the short term benefits from the immediate tax base increase. In the case of But this just considers the negative economic impact of development of loses all Sand in Hats also the the more the area, community development important values We found in the area. who live here also use the Jeep trails, biking trails, enjoy camping and and just plain being outdoors up on the Sand Flats. picnicking SOLVING THE PROBLEM LONG TERM SOLUTION.....There is a simple and elegant long term solution to this problem. By taking the millions of dollars generated by the transient room sales tax (tax levied on sale of motel rooms in Utah) and applying that to the purchase of State Lands, we could solve a number of problems all at once. 1) Tourists would then be paying to support the Utah school children in exchange for the priviledge of enjoying some of the most spectacular scenery on earth. TRADING CO. Moab's Finest Selection & Quality of Authentic Native American Indian Art . 860 South Main 259-594- 2 Moab, Utah 60 North Main NAVAJO, ZUNI & HOPI JEWELRY KACHINAS ZUNI FETISHES NAVAJO RUGS ALABASTER CARVINGS SAND PAINTINGS ACOMA & JEMEZ POTTERY PAPAGO BASKETS NAVAJO BASKETS 259-505- 5 1 . |