| Show Proposed Heritage Area Under Review i The Bush administration s. s a tion says Utah is is stealing money from national parks By Justin McBride Staff writer Utah wants 10 Million from the theUS theUS US Dept of Agriculture i. i USDA A in spite of drastically reduced national and state park I budgets to help fund various 2 projects under the jurisdiction of the National Mormon Pioneer Heritage Area r Last month the Senate Committee for Energy and andt t i Natural Resources announced t its it's endorsement of legislation introduced by Senator Bob Bennett Utah R-Utah to name an anarea anarea anarea area of southern Utah spanning roughly miles and six count counties coun coun- t ties Kane Garfield Piute Sevier Wayne and Sanpete to the Arizona border a national heritage area As defined by the National Park Service a National Heritage Area is a place where natural cultural historic and recreational resources combine combine combine com com- bine to form fonn a nationally distinctive distinctive distinctive tive landscape arising from patterns patterns patterns pat pat- terns of human activity Section 4 of the National Mormon Pioneer Heritage Area Act outlines the purpose of the bill in detail Senator Bob Bennett says this designation will give appropriate recognition to the people and places that have contributed so much to our nations nation's and our states state's development I am pleased my colleagues recognize the significance of this legislation legislation legislation legisla legisla- tion which will help in the preservation of historic buildings buildings buildings build build- ings conservation of cultural resources and increase public awareness of the areas area's cance The bill in its entirety can be accessed at http bills 10 7 According to the Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance Alliance- the organization named by the National Mormon Pioneer Heritage Area Act to be the management management management man man- entity for the area area area- there are over buildings that either qualify to be listed or orare orare orare are already listed on the National Register Historic of Places If the area is designated a national heritage area it will be eligible for up to 1 Million per year through fiscal year 2020 for fora a total of 1 10 0 Million possible The 1 Million a year would be bea a 50 match s says ys Mont Bona Director of the Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance According to Bona for every dollar spent to fund projects such as the restoration of historic buildings one dollar will be appropriated from the budget of the State Parks division of the USDA Brenda Barrett National Coordinator for the Heritage Areas testifies in her statement for the Subcommittee on National Parks of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources while the department recognizes the appropriateness of designating the National Mormon Pioneer Heritage Area we recommend that the Committee defer action on S 2196 the National Mormon Pioneer Heritage Area Act bill during the remainder of the Congress To meet the presidents president's initiative to eliminate the deferred maintenance backlog backlog backlog back back- log we need to continue to focus on caring for existing areas in inthe inthe inthe the National Park System The Bush administration has charged on more than one occasion occasion occasion occa occa- sion that Utah is trying to rob national parks to pay for the National Mormon Pioneer Heritage Area and other ors such as a new natural history museum at the University of Utah In light of the Bush administrations administration's administrations administration's administrations administration's adminis adminis- initiatives and the lack of money in the overall budget for national and state parks it seems unlikely that the bill if considered this year will be approved by Congress despite the fact that Senator Bennett and his staff and The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources agree it is a worthwhile or Many parks around the country country country coun coun- try have been forced to close closedown closedown down completely reduce services es such as waste management and others have raised fees to cope with the budget cuts S 2196 is now headed for the full senate to consider The second second second sec sec- sec sec- ond and final session of the Congress will conclude later this year If the bill is not considered before the 2nd session session session ses ses- ses- ses sion ends it will be deferred to next year C |
