By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Juab County Commissioners traveled to Washington D.C. to
meet with the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public
lands and to lobby to support efforts to bring resolution to
the long-standing wilderness debate on lands administered by
the BLM in Western Utah.
Wm. Boyd Howarth, commission chair, acted as spokesman
for the group. Mike Seely, county administrator, and Glenn
Greenhalgh, county economic development director, also made
the trip.
"We want our constituents to know that we thought this
was the only way to get our views heard," said Howarth. "We
stayed in the least expensive accommodations we could find
and shared rooms with each other. We also flew via the least
expensive airline."
Howarth presented the same speech, for benefit of local
citizens, at commission meeting on Monday.
"For too long, rhetoric and polarization have stood in
the way of the wilderness debate issue coming to
resolution," said Howarth.
As far as the debate was concerned, said Howarth,
commissioners supported efforts to resolve the issue they
also had a responsibility, which commissioners took
seriously, to look out for the interests of local
citizens.
"We have spent hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of
dollars combing the land and listening to those residents
who would be most affected by wilderness designations; those
people whose very livelihood and even lives are dependent
upon these lands and the water and other resources they
provide," he said.
Howarth quoted six paragraphs from the Juab County
General Plan mission statement regarding state and federal
lands in the county.
First, he said, federal and state officials should work
cooperatively with elected leaders and citizens in managing
natural desert, forest, and rangeland resources in the
county.
"Second, we believe it is vitally important for federal,
state, and county officials to work harmoniously with those
who use public lands for agricultural, mining, mineral
extraction, and recreational purposes to ensure that
regulatory fees and land use restrictions are purposeful and
reasonable," he said.
Third, it is wise to limit the designation of wilderness
areas because unilateral expansion of wilderness will be
detrimental to the multiple industries which depend upon
public lands to sustain livelihood and will be counter
productive to county economy.
Fourth, lands should be managed for multiple use
including the preservation and protection of commodity uses
such as water resources, mineral resources, and grazing
rights as well as amenity uses such as wildlife and
recreation.
Fifth, the goals of land use planning and management
should include the encouragement of an improved living
environment, economic expansion and opportunity and
purposeful growth.
"We believe that present and future residents of Juab
County, have both constitutional and established rights to
the continued use of public domain lands as was enjoyed by
our forefathers," said Howarth.
"This bill is clearly a political solution to what we
believe should be a land-based debate," he said.
Howarth said many of the areas included do not posses
wilderness characteristics defined by the 1964 Wilderness
Act and manageability of many of the lands was
questionable.
The bill being considered in the subcommittee, in its
current form, does not adequately protect many of the
resources as it should. However, it would take only minor
adjustments to the maps and language to gain the support of
Juab County.
"We believe the corridor width across Sand Pass and
through the Swasey area needs to be widened to a width of
1,000 feet from road centerline on both sides for a total
corridor width of 2,000 feet," said Howarth.
This would provide room for future needs while not
adversely affecting the wilderness areas.
"Private land should not be included in this bill," said
Howarth.
There are several parcels of private land within the Deep
Creeks that are shown as wilderness on the proposed maps. On
the same token, however, one section of land that used to be
private has become federal land but it is shown outside the
wilderness boundary.
"Another issue of major importance to not only Juab
County but to this entire country is the need to preserve
access to areas determined to be of high mineral potential,"
said Howarth.
Such areas, for example, as on Fish Springs and on the
North West corner of the proposed wilderness are of
particular interest.
"Current maps show one patented mining claim being
excluded from wilderness with no way to access the claim,"
said Howarth. The maps give the appearance of providing
access but the only access without going up and then down a
cliff is not protected.
Prior to designation as wilderness it is required that a
study of mineralized areas and mineral potential be
performed by the U.S.G.S. Even though the studies have been
made, in this case, some areas identified as having high
mineral potential are being included in this act.
"With the shift of as little as 2,500 acres, this mineral
potential can be protected," said Howarth. "When it would
take so little to preserve access to these vital natural
resources, I don't see how anyone could recommend locking
them up."
"Minerals are not mobile and they do not exist just
anywhere, they are where they are; it is as simple as that,"
he said. "If we do not have access to the areas where
mineral are located, we do not have access to the areas
where minerals are located."
"With the small adjustments I have described, Juab County
can and will support this bill, however, without these minor
modifications we cannot and will not offer our support. We
will be vigilant in our opposition."
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