By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Juab County Commissioners said during Monday's
commission meeting that some existing Utah wilderness areas
may soon be redesignated to allow mining and
construction.
Jim Hansen, R-Utah House Resources Committee Chair, is
working to right a wrong, he admits was committed many years
ago. That error, he agreed with commissioners in information
he shared with Juab County Commissioners, has made some of
the work in Juab County more difficult.
"This is a mistake which has needed to be corrected
for some time," said Robert Steele, Juab County
Commissioner.
Hansen is trying to correct, he said, a 16-year-old
mistake that inadvertently put some Juab County water supply
facilities into the Mount Nebo Wilderness Area, along with
some mining claims.
"We have been working to right this mistake for many
years," said Wm. Boyd Howarth, commission chair.
The Resources Subcommittee on Forests and Forest
Health was recently told by Hansen that a 1984 Utah
wilderness bill he wrote had intended to "cherry stem" out
some pipelines, ditches and springs that provide water to
the towns of Nephi and Mona.
He said no one caught the error in the final maps
approved by Congress which put those water
facilities&emdash;plus some mining claims lawmakers intended
to exclude&emdash;into the wilderness area.
"These systems are old and in need of constant
maintenance and care. But due to the restriction on
motorized vehicle access in wilderness areas, it is
difficult, if not impossible, to adequately maintain these
facilities," Hansen testified.
"It is about time this was taken care of," said
Howarth. "The county has been unable to replace some
pipelines ruined by mud slides."
In addition, the wilderness designation blocked access
to some "patented" mining claims, where the federal
government had, earlier on, essentially sold mineral rights
to individuals. In these cases, their pre-wilderness status
should have exempted them.
"Bob (Robert Steele, who is now a county commissioner)
sued the Forest Service to gain access to a patented claim
he owns and won an order for $120,000 in compensation from
the Forest Service," said Howarth.
Hansen's bill would remove 428.8 acres of public land
from wilderness designation but it would add another 439.2
acres of other "roadless forest area" back into it.
Therefore, the bill actually creates about 10 more acres of
wilderness than it removes.
No serious opposition from pro-environmental members
of Congress was expected.
Hansen sought to allay possible criticism that
removing the areas from wilderness could lead to major new
roads or development. That could not happen, he said, since
the areas remain under control of the Forest Service and
that agency may use its discretionary power to limit general
access.
Monument Springs, Gardner Canyon, Birch Creek, Ingram
Canyon, Willow Creek, Mendenhall Springs, Wash Canyon and
the Dale area are some of the areas proposed for removal
from wilderness. These locations were named for exception to
the wilderness because they are known for springs, pipelines
or patented mining claims.
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