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Show : iYs TSVRyflrS-- .fs '.i''.-''-5' ' " V WP r7r -- I lT 1 -ww" T;- - E C u-- 1- w I r vT 4 I ! JsMW t yY hometown, Newspaper for san juan county, I V ?" r 9 l . 4? 2 ! (g since isis Utah jfmmnt 'v ' Controversy over dinosaur fossil increases An international controversy is developing over the identification of a new species of dino- saur. Stephen Czerkas, ofthe Dinosaur Museum in Blanding, was a key member ofa team that announced they had found the missing link between saurs and birds. dino- The National Geographic Society announced the discovery of a Archaeoraptor liaonii-gensispecies of dinosaur with apparent feathered wings, at an October, 1999 press conference in Washington, D.C. and in a major story in the November issue ofNational Geographic. s, according to Stephen Czerkas, it appears as if the fossil of the Archaeoraptor may be a composite, possibly with the tail of a dinosaur and xgM,Aaw growing international controversy is developing over the fossilized remains of a winged dinosaur called the Archaeoraptor. New evidence may show that the fossil on which the identification of the dinosaur was National Geographic Society photo based, is actually a composite, a combination of two separate fossils. BLM will release plan to address OHV use The Bureau of Land Manage- ment last week announced it will develop a national strategy for ensuring environmentally Veresponsible hicle use on lic lands. Off-Highw- ay BLM-manag- ed pub- Local access groups charge that the BLM program has been developed in secret and without the involvement of the general public. The Utah Shared Access Alliance, Utahs largest public lands access group, has released secret minutes of a BLM meeting which they say lays out a strategy to change all travel plans in the state ofUtah. The document was leaked to at least one interested party in December. The group announced that if the BLM attempts to implement any planning change without complying with all public involvement provisions of management regulations, it will take aggressive legal action. The leaked document is the meeting summary of a two-da- y of a team of BLM staffers who have been working for months to develop and implement a statewide policy that will affect a majority of public land visitors. The group charges that this is being carefully orchestrated behind the scenes, hidden from the light of public scrutiny and would appear to be in violation of federal law and regulations which require full public in . volvement in such an effort. Brian Hawthorne, Executive Director of the Utah Shared Access Alliance called this plan another blatant attempt to circumvent the laws Congress created to insure full public participation in the wise management of our public lands. It seems the agency has continued its record of excluding the public when conducting inventories, developing alternatives and implementing management plans. The documents indicate that the Utah State office of the BLM intends to publish a Federal Register Notice of this plan on February 14. The BLM will attempt to implement what would be in effect a closed unless posted open policy on all of the BLMs lands in Utah. What a fine Valentine for the 500,000 Utahns who use vehicles to access and recreate on our public lands, Hawthorne added. The BLM actions are apparently the result of lawsuits filed by environmental groups and the increased use of BLM lands by Off Highway Vehicles. related litigation, protests, appeals and Freedom of Information Act requests. The OHV management strategy will recognize the importance of each of those values, said Henri Bisson, the BLMs Assistant Director for Planning and Renewable Resources, who will lead the agencys effort in crafting the national OHV strat- The strategy we will develop is aimed at recognizing the interests of OHV users while pro- plans are outdated not only because of increased OHV use, but also because of ths rise in the number of threatened and endangered species found on BLM lands. In fact, the number of threatened and endangered species on BLM lands rose from more than 50 in 1982 to nearly 300 in 1997. tecting environmentally sensitive areas on the public lands, said BLM Acting Director Tom Fry. The strategy will also enable the BLM to spend scarce funding resources on managing OHV use rather than on OHV- - egy. The strategy to be developed will reflect substantial input from OHV user groups, environ- mental organizations, state and local agencies and the general public, Bisson said. OHVs and other forms of rec- reational transportation - sport utility vehicles, motorcycles and mountain bikes - are more popular than ever before. Moreover, OHV use is taking place on land designated by the y BLM as open to travel based on cross-countr- land-manageme- nt plans that the Bureau drew up in the 1970s and 1980s, when OHV use was comparatively small. The BLM states that the land-manageme- the body of a bird. New evidence presented by Chinese scientist Zing Zu, a member of the research team, nt shows that the tail of the Archaeoraptor may be identical to another fossil he saw in a private collection in China. The two tails are apparently mirror images of each other, and could have been derived from the same animal. Czerkas says he is reserving judgment until he can view both fossils together. The National Geographic Society is negotiating with the Chinese to arrange a meeting. Until the two fossils can be examined together, we wont know for sure, said Czerkas. Professional jealousies may be at play in the large amount of negative publicity that has accompanied the new developments. Many scientists have criticized the team and the National Geographic Society for unveiling the fossil before any detailed article had appeared in a scientific journal. Stories have appeared in Science News, U.SA. Today, Washington Post, and the Guardian in England. Czerkas stated that many in the pi ess are trying to sensationalize the issue and have in- called the Archaeoraptor a fake, a fraud, y Monticello -Blanding City Councils each meet - See page 2 Can you spell, or pronounce Vichyssoise? - See page 4 Forest Service acts on two trails in Abajos - See page 4 Area wrestlers get ready for Region tourney - See Sports, page 10 tWEATHERB Monticello Blanding Jan Hi Lo Pr Hi Lo Pr 24 40 24 tr 45 32 25 37 30.08 45 36.25 26 37 32 .43 40 33 .45 27 34 24 41 25 28 31 18 29 36 11 39 23 39 17 30 37 12 41 19 had a trace of snow January 24 and 1 January 26. Blanding had a trace both days. Monticello I IMEfl NEWS ROUNDUP LETTERS SOCIETY. SPORTS COMMUNITY NEWS OBITUARIES REAL ESTATE LEGALS CLASSIFIEDS San Jvan Record takes appropriately or a hoax. The March issue of National Geographic will include a short story on the new developments. Czerkas is upbeat, saying, Regardless of whether the fossil is a composite or not, it is a significant find. 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