By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Juab County Commissioners would like citizens of Juab County to attend a BLM "listening meeting" to be held on October 26 at 7 p.m. in the county commission chambers in the county building.
The Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released details on their new strategy to save the sage-grouse population. The plan will impact how tens of millions of acres of land in the west will be handled, which is why Juab County Commissioners think that there should have been more local input.
"There was no coordination with the county and there was no public input," said Byron Woodland, commission chairman.
Mike Gate, BLM Field Manager, attended commission meeting to discuss the plan and explain some of its demands.
"This is a plan dictated from the top down instead of the bottom up," said Rick Carlton, commissioner. "That is absolutely the wrong way of planning these projects."
Clinton Painter, commissioner, said that early on it sounded like the agency would like to work with the county but that had not happened.
The plan will have a few options that local residents might want to be involved in, said Gates.
"We wanted to set up a listening session where residents of the county could ask questions and get answers," said Gates.
Greater sage-grouse habitat covers 165 million acres across 11 states in the West, and BLM officials think that is a loss of 56 percent from the species' historic range.
"The plan, signed in September, shows a total number of acres in Juab County to be 212,000 acres," Gates said. "Public land is impacted."
Woodland said the plan was the kind of decision-making that was driving the American Lands Council. He said that the federal government wanted to set the land as part of a museum when it should be treated like a garden.
"I can only work within the flexibility I have been given," said Gates.
Millard County, next door to the area set aside in Juab County as Sage Grouse habitat, does not have any acreage set aside.
"As if the Sage Grouse had the innate ability to not cross into Millard County across the county line (which is the border of the habitat in Juab County)," said Carlton.
Gates rolled out a map of the habitat area showing that the Sheep Rock area was outlined in two colors. Part of it was in green and part in purple.
"The green line shows the borders of the priority habitat and the purple shows the general habitat," said Gates.
The rest continues to be governed by the House Resource Plan.
"The only thing we asked for," said Gates, "was the boundary be moved so it would follow the Wise Highway."
That would have allowed better management of Little Sahara Sand Dunes. The request was not honored.
No wind or solar projects will be allowed in either habitat, said Gates.
Woodland and Carlton said that some interest had been shown in such projects in that area. That restriction might be a concern to the county commission.
"When I was the county economic development director, some interest was shown in wind generation that might be a possibility in the future," said Woodland.
"Commissioner Woodland and I have sat in on intense meetings," said Carlton. "What a farce."
Painter mentioned the West Desert Land Exchange that the commission had been working on. He wondered if that would be ruined by the new plan.
"This is just on public land," said Gates. "There are more restrictions on federal lands."
The plan did not really affect state and private land except for the 3 percent disturbance cap.
As for existing mining, it had been grandfathered in if there were valid existing rights. However, said Carlton, that was not enough to satisfy him because current leases may not be renewable.
"A large mine would have the potential to run into a wall since only 3 percent could be disturbed.
Another issue, said Gates, was that only one facility was allowed on 640-acres.
Gates said that RS 2477 roads might be brought more to the forefront under the plan.
"We are currently in a lawsuit over RS 2477 roads," said Carlton.
At one time, the greater sage-grouse population likely numbered in the millions, but is estimated to have dwindled to 200,000 to 500,000 individuals range-wide but the dwindling of population can also be attributed not only to loss of acreage but to predators.
Allotments for grazing are not indicated. However the allotments should not be affected, said Gates.
"Studies have shown that grazing improves the habitat for the Sage Grouse," said Carlton.
There may need to be some tree removal, said Gates. That would include juniper trees located in the habitat.
TransWest transmission lines were given an exception and can still be built," said Gates.
"It is a double standard," said Carlton.
He said it looked as though the project was not really about the plan and the Sage Grouse but was about granting political favoritism. "It is in the President's top 10 projects," said Glenn Greenhalgh, county planning director.
"It reminds me of grad school," said Carlton.
A theory looked good in the classroom but would not work in real life.
"I feel bad for Colorado," he said.
In Utah, Rich County will be the hardest hit.
In 2010, the Fish and Wildlife Service identified the sage-grouse as a species that should be considered for the threatened or endangered species list, and the western states went to work drafting plans to prevent that from happening.
Now, the federal government is going ahead with its own plan and Gates has been assigned to visit with county commissions throughout the affected parts of the state.
"We would like the residents of your county to come to the listening meeting and ask their questions," Gates said.
