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Show THE ZEPHYRJAN-FE- PAGE 30 FEEDBACK The readers respond ... Last month, our very own Cherie Gilmore waxed poetic about one of her professors in college, a "devastating gorgeous" guy named Steve. Vk tracked down Professor Peterson end he agreed to contribute these photographs, to other ease or add to Gils longing; think of them, Cherie, as a belated Christmas present. And since a picture (or two) is worth a thousand B 19 Maybe wearing it causes unusual behavior. But I'm starting to ramble. I guess we'll have to wait until March to see what will invade the canyons of Moab. Nothing I can imagine will match the real thing. Sincerely, Stan Ferris Castle Valley Dear Jim: The July edition of the Zephyr contained an article by Ken Sleight; titled "Around the Bend (Again)," pertaining to the status of wilderness designation on Cedar Mesa located in San Juan County. In this article Ken raised some concerns about the impacts of recreation and tourism and about a visitor contact station at Kane Gulch. Because of the public interest in Cedar Mesa, we would like to explain our position on some of the statements made by Ken about these issues. We bring these to your attention now because the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be seeking public comment on specific relevant decisions during the upcoming months. On the issue of recreation and tourism, Ken states, "Already there has been much vehicles." He also destruction due to the indiscriminate use of recreational Mesa of hunters and Cedar combed hundreds artifact is states, "Already by being artifacts and burials. Many archaeological sites have diggers searching for antiquities; been ruined or destroyed." already vehicle use is related to Contrary to Ken's assertion that indiscriminate office have found that most of the indiscriminate offrecreation, investigations by our road vehicle use is related to firewood collection. This vehicle use has caused an incursion of new roads and trails across the top of Cedar Mesa since the early 1980's. Permit records and monitoring of public activity on Cedar Mesa for many years indicates that the principal demand for firewood collection comes from the Navajo people As Ken notes in his article; the residents of the Navajo reservation are heavily dependent of firewood collection from Cedar Mesa for subsistence. To satisfy the demand for firewood collection and to minimize any potential environmental impacts associated with this activity, we are in the process of preparing a wood harvesting plan for Cedar Mesa. The purpose of this plan is to designate areas where a systematic approach to firewood collection will be developed which will off-roa- d off-roa- d off-ro- protect cultural resources, improve watershed conditions, and achieve a sustained of forest products. During preparation of this plan, we are encouraging public involvement by all interested parties. Monitoring of archaeological sites on Cedar Mesa confirms Ken's assessment of the destruction that is occurring due to an increase in recreation and tourism. Because of this, the need for a visitor contact station on Cedar Mesa has been recognized for several years. The need for a visitor contact station was first identified in the Resource Management Plan for the San Juan Resource Area approved in 1991. This need was supported by the 1992 Cedar Mesa Conference in which over 100 people participated. From the Grand Gulch Plateau Cultural and Recreation Management Plan approved in 1993, a decision was made to upgrade the facilities at Kane Gulch. Throughout this planning process there has been extensive public participation. On the issue of a visitor contact station, Ken states that we have begun to build a large $500,000 visitor contact station at Kane Gulch which will set the stage for attracting more people. We want to clarify that we have not begun to build a visitor contact station at Kane Gulch but the designs and plans for a proposed facility have been prepared. During this past summer, BLM conducted investigations to assess the availability of permanent water in the area. Based on these plans and investigations, we are currently preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) to analyze the potential environmental impacts of constructing a facility and the alternatives. Before making any final decision, we will be soliciting public comments on the draft EA. The purpose of proposing a visitor contact station at Kane Gulch is definitely not to attract more people but rather to educate the people who are already coming to Grand Gulch arid are first time visitors to Cedar Mesa. Visitor use in Grand Gulch continues to increase every year (7,000 visitors last year) without any encouragement from us. In addition to more closely regulating recreational activity in Grand Gulch, public education is the primary way to protect the important archaeological sites found in the area for long-terstudy and enjoyment Therefore, a facility has been at Kane Gulch the public can be informed about cultural resources where proposed and how to conduct themselves when they are visiting sites. Ken Sleight's views on resource issues are always appreciated and we are glad he brought public attention to some of the important Issues confronting Cedar Mesa. By developing a sensible wood harvesting plan and providing an appropriate visitor contact station, we feel many of the concerns raised about resource destruction and degradation will be alleviated. If you or any of your readers have any questions or comments about the proposed plans for wood harvesting or a visitor contact station, please contact: Area Manager Bureau of Land Management San Juan Resource Area P D. Box 7 Monticello, Utah 84535 yield Dear Jim, Now that the main tourist attack has passed, it is possible to relax, and wait for winter to descend, a time for reflection. Since this past season brought us so many unusual "sporting" activities!, I've been reflecting on what bizarre new enterprise might visit our friendly shores. On a recent hike in very rough terrain, I came across mountain bike tracks, and nearby, a golf ball. The distance between the two was about that of a bad chip shot I puzzled for awhile and finally continued on my way. Within a few minutes I came across a small boulder. It was off by itself, minding its own business. But this rock was covered with bolts, cables, chock, rope, and other paraphernalia that I couldn't recognize. The rock seemed too tiny and insignificant for any possible conquest of its summit, so I was again puzzled. Could there be a connection between the tire tracks and the golf ball? Someone pedaling around while hacking at golf balls? But how would this rock fit in? 1 used to think that most sporting activities had some objective (except golf - of course) so I'm having trouble figuring out recent trends. About three years ago I was surprised to see a hot air balloon rising from somewhere near the river bridge. My surprise turned to shock as someone tumbled out of the basket! "Oh my God, I thought, "Someone got pushed out" Just when the victim was about to splat on to the ground, he stopped, and was shot back into the sky. That's when I saw the rubber band. the contestants, (or maybe they're From what I've heard about the called combatants) gallop about on horses, then dash off on foot; and at some point they switch to river vessels. Someone told me these warriors had to pitch bowling balls at one another (but this source is unreliable; so it may not be true). Could it be that there has been a surge in testosterone in recent years? With all these Bovine Growth Hormones cropping up in our com flakes ... This notion probably isn't correct because I've noticed that women are sometimes involved. Another possibility is that our country hasn't had a good war in awhile. A tidy little war on some remote island could stem the tide of Lycra infestation. And what about Lycra? I don't think its a coincidence that most of the folks hanging from ropes and rubber bands are sporting this attire. Has anyone investigated what Lycra really is? ge, ad m (801)587-214- 1 Sincerely, Katherine (Kate) Kitchell District Manager |