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Show aaSasiTHii 1 iJwwwO sadimi MV -- Am Page 12 - UINTAH BASIN STANDARD. March 23. 1999 approves oil companies plan for wells, roads at Book Cliffs BLM The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has given an initial to a commercial groups proposal to drill gas wells and build roads in the Book Cliffs Resource go-ahe- Area. y. The BLM initially approved the plan from five oil companies called the Resource Development Group (RDG), which asked to drill 969 wells and build about 400 miles of roads through Book Cliffs, a remote, mix of federal, state and private lands located south of Venial, about 125 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. But the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance ISUWA) says the BLM was remiss in accepting RDG's environmental assessment and deciding the project does not merit a Bill wild-life-ri- environmental-impacRECOGNITION-Dorot- hy Meacham. President of the Roosevelt Busi- ness and Profession Women's Club presents a plaque to the Roosevelt is Young Careerist of 1999, Karen Woolstenhulme. Karen an assistant She will repreBasin Uintah Utah State Campus. University professor at sent Roosevelt at the Southeastern Regional Convention on April 10, in Vernal. Efforts to raise deer numbers, results are mixed Efforts to increase deer numbers in Utah by taking more animals that prey on deer have met with mixed results, those attending the Deer and ElkWorkshop in Salt Lake City learned March 5. Sponsored by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the Deer and Elk Workshop is held every two years. The latest workshop was held at the Salt Palace Convention Center March 4 and 5. The workshops provide wildlife professionals from 14 western states, and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, an opportunity to meet and share the iatest in deer research. and Those attending the March 5 afternoon session learned that efforts to increase mule deer numbers in Utah through the use of predator management plans have met with mixed results. The plans came about after drought conditions in the late 19S0s, and a severe winter in 1992 1993, resulted in Utah losing huge numbers of deer, said Bill Bates, mammals coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. To help the herds recover, in 1996 the Utah Wildlife Board approved a number of strategies that included predator management plans for 15 wildlife management units where deer needed the most help. The plans called for an increased harvest of cougars, and the increased taking of coyotes prior to the fawning season. Bates said. Mixed results have been found. Bates said. The number of deer on seven of the units has increased to elk-relat- ed -- more than 50 percent of the total herd objective, while eight are still under 50 percent of total objective. Fawn survival has increased on 12 of the units, though Bates said an end to drought conditions was probably the most important factor that led to more fawns surviving. Bates used Utah's Fillmore and Book Cliff units, both ofwhich have predator management plans, to illustrate his point. On the Fillmore unit 83 cougars have been taken in the last two years, up over the long term average of 20. More than 100 coyotes also have been killed yearly. The increased take of cougars and coy-otappears to have helped, as Division biologists report the deer herd was 68 percent of objective last year and, because of good recruitment, should be at objective soon. Bates said. A different situation has been found in the Book Cliffs unit, where increased numbers of cougars and coyotes have been taken since 1996 but where the herd still remains more than 50 percent below objective. Bates said. While results are mixed. Bates said the plans have resulted in some significant advantages to deer and predators. They include integrated management objectives for deer and cougars, better management of predr ators through guidelines that tell biologists when to increase or decrease predator removal, and biologists focusing more on examining all factors affecting deer population growth when trying to determine the effects predators are having. . two major stakeholders in RDG Rosewood Resources and White River Resource Management Inc. Minor partners are Security Energy Co., the Kidd Family Partnership and St. Anselm Exploration Com-pan- t statement, particularly eince some of the land is potential wilderness. The group has asked the bureau to reconsider its Jan. 29 decision. "It is a blatant violation of the National Environmental Policy Act and other environmental law, said SUWA spokesman Herb McHarg. "There's no way that drilling 1,000 wells and building 400 miles of roads could not have a significant impact on the environment" On the other side of the fence, RDG is protesting the BLM's decision to cut the number of allowable wells to about 760. The group says the bureau overestimated the extent of critical winter habitat for mule deer that would be affected by the development, and included too large a buffer xone around wells and roads. "There are some real problems with the analysis that was done, said Bill Ryan of Rocky Mountain Consulting, which represents the It is now up to the BLM State Director Bill Lamb to approve or overturn the decision; his input is expected by the end of next week. But Vernal Field Manager David Howell said he is confident about the plan. "Everybodys entitled to their own opinion of course on the relative merits of this assessment and analysis," he said. "But I certainly wouldn't have signed off on it if I didn't feel we had addressed the issues." The project encompasses 79,800 acres about 60 miles southwest of Vernal, but the assessment only covers the 69,560 BLM --administered acres. About 9,000 acres are state-owneand the rest private. The sticking point for SUWA is that RDG's prqject would overlap two pristine areas the group wants set aside as wilderness. One is the White River unit, 13,500 acres of federal land that the BLM recently included on the wilderness inventory. The other is the Lower Bitter Creek, 15,000 acres that have not been officially inventoried but which SUWA says meet the requirements. "If in fact the proposal were to go through and wells drilled, it would completely take away the wilderness sspects of the Lower Bitter Creek," McHarg said. In turn, that would affect ongoing discussion about possible federal designation far those lands. Howell said the bureau is look ing at the extent of the encroachments. There's a myriad of management considerations and criteria we need to address on that, he said. But in the meantime, development has begun in the Book Clifib, with whim roads built and at least a couple of rigs ready to go in., "They're very doJe, Ryan said. "Within a week or two theyll probably start drilling. The state director's order could allow drilling to continue while ordering a new or different analysis or it could stop all or some drilling, Ryan said. He also said RDG wants to avoid an environmental-impac- t statement ifat all passible. "They've already spent in excess of $20,000 and 18 months to get here, he said. Topographical maps to be featured at RMEF banquet The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) and "iGage, the maker of "All Topo Maps of Utah, are teaming up this year at the 1 1th annual RMEF banquet to bring you an easy way to have all ofthe highly detailed topographical maps of the state in your hands. That's because all of the maps are on a two set CD and easy to use through your personal computer and printer. "iGage will have a display including monitor and printer at the banquet where owner and engineer Mark Silver, will demonstrate the ins and out's of getting your favorite hunting locations and worst lost night-maronto your map. "The es versatility and pleasure of having your own set of maps makes an outdoor experience easier and saves the frustration of store shopping for maps says Silver. "iGage which was featured recently on KSL televisions Outdoor with Doug Miller, will bedonatingS complete sets of their "All Topo Mapd" to the banquet, a 1200 dollw value. Each set includes the states of Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado. The RMEF chapter will use the proceeds along with other mon ies that evening to continue to enhance elk and other big game wildlife habitat Silver has ties to the Basin when in the late 70s he fought wildland fires for the Bureau of Land Management for several years while finishing college. Although raising a family in Salt Lake City now. Silver still owns a residence in Browns Park and when time allows, floats his drift boat patiently down the Green River searching for that elusive and wily rainbow trout The RMEF banquet begins at 6 p.m., March 27 at the Western Park. No tickets will be sold at the door or after March 20. For ticket infor4. mation, call Mike Davis at 789-590- r l80dH278679 es Utahs great outdoors Conference sets priorities Recreation priorities, funding sources, open space, resource protection, and increasing demand on existing facilities were key issues at the premier Utahs Great Outdoors Conference held in Salt Lake City. The Utah Department of Natural Resources and Utah State Parks and Recreation hosted this statewide conference to discuss the future of outdoor recreation in Utah for an estimated 1 million new residents over the next 20 years. "It is important that those of us in a position to make a difference today, do what is necessary to meet the needs of tomorrow. We must prepare for the recreational needs ofUtahs next million citizens," said Governor Chief ofStaffTed Stewart. Governor Michael O. Leavitt offered the keynote address and told conference participants. "When I think about the enormous challenge we face in planning for the future of outdoor recreation, the one word that comes to mind is coordination." "It was the spirit of coordination, added Utah State Parks and Recreation director Courtland Nelson, "That launched this conference, and it will be cooperation that creates and protects future recreation opportunities." With the conference concluded, all information gathered including regional recreation priorities and resource protection issues will be compiled, analyzed, and distributed to conference attendees by the Utah State University College of Natural Resources. This product will provide crucial information for planning Utah's recreation future. More than 250 individuals attended the conference representing all areas of the state and a wide variety of recreation interests, including trails, equestrian, vehicles, wildlife, boating, cycling. and riverways. Attendees included representatives at the local, state, and federal levels, and both public and private sectors. Utah's Great Outdoors Conference was sponsored by The Salt Lake Tribune, KSL Radio 1160 and Utah Outdoor Today, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Utah State University, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Governor's Office of Budget and Planning. U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, Utah TVavel Council, Utah Department of Natural Resources, Utah Parks and Recreation Association. and Utah State Parks and Recreation. CERTIFIEDlMECHANICSlS) AARP program offers free tax assistance Free tax preparation assistance for all Utah taxpayers with mid-t- o with special attention to those age 60 and older, is available from AARP Tax-Aid- e now through April 15 at various locations throughout the state. The free service, which was used by more than 9.000 Utah taxpayers in 1998, is provided by AARP Tax-aid- e volunteers, who are trained in cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service. e To locate a site nearest their homes, taxpayers can call a e number, (1 or the Utah State AARP Office at Taxpayers should bring with them ail documents and information, including tax booklet and a copy of last year's return. e AARP is administered AARP Foundation in the through cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service. AARP is the nations leading organization for people 50 and older. The affiliated AARP Foundation is a charitable organization that administers programs such as Tax-Aidthe AARP Senior Community Service Employment Program and the AARP Home Equity Information Center. e, Tax-Aid- toll-fre- 7. tax-relat- Tax-Aid- 25 non-partis- S3 c m EH e, 90 DAVs SAMI A CASH. OAC East Hwy. 40 722-556- 1 IntantCisdKOAC graHaaucacs iPoor |