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Show CRRT: CR19 EXP: 0 ASSOCIATION UTAH PRESS 307 SALT LI. CITY, UT Seven daya without Jaughtar mate one waak Joel Goodman () s. 200 LAKE p 84101 Serving the residents of; Duchesne and Western Uintah Counties New lab Uintah Basin Altamont, Duchesne and Thbiona Net Victories at UBMC helps speed diagnosis page 9 see page 12 cast ballots to limit cougar & bear hunts? Will voters Twidaf, January 14, 1997 Roosevelt, Utah 84th Year No. 2 18 Pages 1 504 page 3 LOCAL LEADERS, CITIZENS INVITED TO GIVE INPUT Book Cliffs Coordinate Resource Management Plan now underway By Lezlee E. Whiting Foundation purchased huge tracts of land as part of the Initiative and donated them to the government , The Book Clifla Conservation Initiative may be in legal limbo right agencies to show that with good now following the filing last fall of a management livestock grazing, wildfederal lawsuit, but BLM officials life use, oil, gas, and other mineral are moving forward with other plans development are compatible land to manage hundreds of thousands of uses. acres in Uintah Countys Book Clifla David Howell, BLM Vernal Disthrough their Coordinated Resource trict manager, says the CRMP is Management Planning process. separate from the Initiative and aci The old Book Cliffs Contually began in 1990 as a template servation Initiative came under fire for the vision of the future" for the lafct summer When opponents acBook Cliffs. cused Initiative partners of The process will identify stakegiring Book Cliff deer herds, dis- holders interested in participating placing AUMi (Animal Unit Months) and will afford citizens an opportuneeded for cattlegrazing, restricting nity to participate at any level they the potential for economic developchoose. The CRMP process is based ment, and failure to obtain public on the philosophy that through direct communication people with ininput or environmental assessments terrelated interests can meet and throughout the Initiative process. The Book Cliffs Initiative was work together voluntarily "on the forged by partners who included the ground to solve local resource manBLM, Utah Division of Wildlife Reagement problems. The Book Cliffs CRMP will be sources, The Nature Conservancy and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundabased upon extensive public meettion. The private Nature Conserings and input and will take into vancy ana Rocky Mountain Elk account federal, state, and local land ar TAKING ON THE CHALLENGE-Tho- se appointed to serve on die recently formed board of directors for the Pinion Forest Special Service District are pictured left to right: Roland Uresk, who serves as the board's legal .counsel, Laura Lowe, Pied Mauerman, Victoria Garcia, Steven Foulson and Gil Montoya, board president. Duchesne County CotnmissionerTed Kappen told the new board members, We don't want to micnvmanage you, we want you to go ahead and do your thing." : PINION FOREST.SPEClAlI SERVICE WSTRICTflSwS'? '5 Board of directors named to county's west end water district By Lezlee B. Whiting "One year ago nobody saw this, but it tow some work and everybody sees water out there, everybody knows now its going to work, ex THE NEED IS HERE Efforts-underwa- y claimed Gil Montoya, the president of the newfy formed Pinion Ridge Special Service District's Board of Directors. Montoya, along with Laura Lowe, Fred Mauerman, Steve Poulson and Victoria Garcia were appointed to serve on the board last week by Duchesne County Commissioners. The board will immediately begin work to draft their s. Their appointments are temporary until the special service district holds an - 5$ election this November. NOW ItS&v'-i 4iS' & The board members all reside in the Pinion Ridge area of western Duchesne County. They are working to-exp- and in tandem with mtofyoftheffheigb-'"- ' bore to bring a culinary water system to a growing number of homes scattered throughout the remote portion of the county. With many legal tasks now behind them, those spearheading the move to build the water system will It will take about five to six years focus their efforts on obtaining milto see the expansion project through lions of dollars in funding. . to fruition, and cost about )4 million The Pinion Ridge Special Service to $5 million to build. But when it is District expects to hear this week done it will be done in a way that will whether they will receive a $50,000 put Roosevelt on the map as far as Community Development Block the higher education opportunities Grant to pay for engineering studwe have to offer, said Hansen. ies. They also have the backing of The latest move to expand the the county to seek a $50,000 grant USU campus in Roosevelt is the third from the Community Impact Board e part of a plan to increase to pay for similar work. Horrocks the presence of higher education in Engineers has already been retained the community. by the district to design feasibility But before anything will happen studies. Construction estimates show that organizers must first go through "all the proper channels? The Uintah the special service district will hove Basin Applied Technology Center is to raise about $7.6 million over the a critical component of the expan- next five years. Montoya says they sion effort Committee members and will apply tothe CIB for the majority itives from the two schools of that funding. Those living within work together throughout the the districts boundaries will be taxed to repay any loans. planning process. "We are moving cautiously, but T haven't had any negative rewe have no doubt this will happen, sponse," Montoya related, everyone this is something we can do for our- says lets do it! selves." Original estimates showed that the planned culinary water system could nerve between 250 to 500 families when its complete around the year 2000. But, Montoya adds, when people know there will be a dependable supply of water in the countys recreational hot spot, it will draw even more full and part-tim- e Theres still plenty oflegwork and lots of "informing to be dime, but workhas begun in earnest to expand the Utah State University Uintah Basin branch campus in Roosevelt "Its not like were saying build it and they will come, they're here! said Irene Hansen, Duchesne County Area Chamber iff Commerce director and a member iff the Continuing Education Committee formed about a year ago under the direction of former Duchesne County Commissioner Larry Ross. "He was the one who said let's do this, lets be in charge of our own future here." Indeed the countys master plan lists education as their top priority. file process of won't be a short one, ssys Hansen. Tentative plans call for construction of additional classrooms and office space, a student center, physical fitness center and expanded library and book store. FERRUGINOUS by-law- campus five-phas- - HAWKiSSlISI BLM official SEE BOOKCLIFFS on page 3 -- USU Bv Lezlee E. Whiting management policies aH' practices. Last week Howell an jtherBLM officials met with Duchesne County Commissioners to invite them to participate in the management process. "We invite citizens in the affected counties to participate and weve contacted county governments to ask commissioners to participate or send a delegate to represent them, Howell commented. Commissioners assured Howell that Duchesne County would have a spokesperson. "There's no (Book Cliffs) land in our county, but our people use it a lot and care about it," said commissioner Curtis Dastrup. The CRMP includes 330,000 acres of BLM administered public land; 12.000 acres of DWR administered lands; 18,000 acres of private land; 116.000 acres of State School Trust Lands; and an unidentified number of acres of Ute Tribe allotted lands scattered mainly along riparian corridors. anticipates decision on drilling permits will ease fears MANAGING THE BOOK CUFFS Division of Wildlife Resources Northeastern Region Manager Walt Donaldson shows Duchesne County Commissioners a map of the Book Giffs. The DWR and BLM have invited citizens and elected officials to participate in forming the Coordinated Resource Management Plan for the Book CUffs. IS BLM SEEKING MORE LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY? : says perceived rule changes just housecleaning measures BLM Bv Lezlee E. Whiting of the Federal Register. The inquiries - many iff which consisted of accusations that the BLM was illegally attempting to expand their law enforcement arm 1996 issue Phones started ringing off the hook about a week ago at the BLM District office in Vernal. Concerned callers wanted to know more about a list of law enforcement regulations which the federal land management agency had outlined in the Nov. 7, Bv Lezlee E. Whiting from the Division of Wildlife Resources, School Trust Lands, DepartThe manager for the Vernal Dis- ment of Oil, Gas and Mining, and trict BLM says hes positive that an other interested parties. Were really after substantive arrangement canbe made which will satisfy all parties involved in a con- public input weVe got some good troversy over oil drilling rights ver- comments and theyll all be considsus a protected hawk. ered in the process," Howell detailed. "Well weight these against writing David Howell, BLM District manager is the person responsible for comments (in the draft EIS)." Howell has set a "target date" of writing the official "record of decision which will determine whether Jan. 31 for the release of the record Inland will be granted drilling per- of decision. The document is the fimits for 50 new oil wells south of nal word on whether Inland can exMyton. The main drilling activity is pect to obtain the drilling permits aggressive oil prqjectedto Although bring milUons of dollars into the not on the federal endangered spe- local economy over the next few cies list, the bird has been listed by years. the BLM as a "special species in John Dyer, Inland's cheif operatneed of protection. ing officer, submitted hundreds of Tm confident we can work things pages ofnew information during the through that will be agreeable to public comment period. The report everyone ... wo can find a viable details research studies of the fersolution, Howell stated. . ruginous hawk in Montana and At the close of the public com- northwest Colorado which showed ment period on the district's Draft that the birds thrived in the middle Environmental Impact Statement at oil fields where artificial nests last last month,Howell said the BLM had been erected. had received numerous comments . BLM public relations spokes- man, Duane DePaepe. The Federal Register is routinely issued out ofWashmgton,D.C. whenever federal regulations change and accumulate to the point that they are in need iff updating. According to David Howell, BLM District manager far Vernal, the controversy was generated over nothing more than an attempt to consolidate several existing BLM law en forcement regulations into one tion in the federal code books. We had a myriad of federal regu- latory actions authorized. We felt that to facilitate public understand- - ing we would put them all in one spot. There is nothing in there that doesn't already exist,". Howell declared. "It originated from our Washington office but it brought inquiries from Utah and other states, DePaepe related. I wish our Washington office had alerted us, but this was minor moving and consolidating. Ifit had involved a change in the SEE BLM on page 3 NEARLY APPLICATION PERIOD I.: iff" Now is time to apply for Big Game Hunts By Aldon Rachele 30096, Salt Lake City, Utah 84130-009- 6. Even though Big Game Hunts Wildlife licensing coordinator for are months away, now is the time to the DWR, Judi Tutorow, said that apply to participate in many of them, early planning plus taking the time to complete an application correctly according to Utah Division of Wildlife Resources officials. helps to ensure that a hunters e application period for Utahs plication is entered in the Big Game 1997 Bucks, Bulls and Draw. lifetime hunts is being held four Hunters are urged to apply early, months earlier than last year at the There are two advantages to apply, request of sportsmen, who asked for ing at the start of the application additional time to plan vacations, period, and they are: Hunters win Applications must be received nave a chance to correct errors they through the mail by 5 p.m., Friday, may have made and they give their January 81. application plenty of time to arrive Application mailing address is: SEE BIG GAME HUNT on page 3 Hunt Application Office, P.O. Box ap-Th- Once-In-A- ITS BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE WINTER ... F1NALLY-- A winter storm blew into the Uintah Basin over the weekend causing hazardous driving conditions and bringing freezing temperatures. You better get use to it. weather forecasters say there's more on fee way! . |