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Show TROPIC Excited oungsters are seen daily now filling those after school hours with laughter on Tropic Town Park's newly Installed pla ground Commissioners Reply to BLM On Henry Mountain Planning Garfield County commissioners submitted a letter to the Bureau of Land Management setting forth the county's position relative to planning by the BLM for the Henry Mountain area. The commissioners' letters pointed out that their policy has been to encourage responsible economic development in the county to reduce unemployment, underemployment and outmigration of the youthful workforce. They noted that Ticaboo was developed to support the uranium mining and milling effort in that area and constitutes a strong industrial base in eastern Garfield County. They stated that other mineral production possibilities such as coal and tar sands exist which could "expand the energy potential in the area substantially." They said that grazing and timber lease activity should be maintained at least at present levels and increased where possible, insisting that grazing and timber production have historically been very important to the county and must remain so. Tar sands and uranium were of little importance in the 1930's, they noted, pointing up the inability to determine precisely what minerals may eventually become critical. Decisions and policies prohibiting future exploration of lands of yet undetermined value should be avoided wherever possible they wrote, particularly where such exploration concerns the mineral development portion of wilderness study areas. The increasing size and migratory nature of the buffalo herd in the Henry Mountain area also was one of the concerns outlined by the commissioners. They noted that the herd had migrated from the Robbers Roost area to the cave Flat-Swap Mesa area threatening an adverse impact on livestock grazing if the herd increases further in size and continues to migrate. Recognizing that grazing may ultimately be eliminated from Capitol Reef Naitonal Park, they suggested that the herd be contained within the park boundaries. Such a move, they wrote, would eliminate competition with livestock outside the park and remove the potential conflict of mineral development in the present buffalo habitat. Commissioners objected to the BLM's use of ACEC's (Areas of Critical Environmental Concern) in a broad way, stating that the unnecessary use of ACEC's conflicts with other designated protection policies such as wilderness study areas now in use. They said equipment. It took four excited oldsters to get the project complete this week. ACEC's should be used only in very isolated cases and for small (500 acres or less) areas. Throughout the wilderness inventory process the commissioners have commented extensively on the units within the planning area. They have objected to the excessive amount of acreage contained in the wilderness study areas and have recommended only one area as having potential for wilderness classification. All comments made by the Garfield County commissioners were consistent with the county's Master Plan for development, they said. All three county commissioners, Chairman George Middleton, Guy Thompson and Dell LeFevre, signed the letter which was addressed to BLM District Director Donald Pendleton in Richfield. |