Land Use Rally in St. George

[Don B]

The Blue Ribbon Coalition and USA-ALL are having a pro-land use rally on June 29th. It wll be on the steps of the Washington County Administration Building at 197 E. Tabernacle from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. There will be food there.
We really need to have a big turnout of four wheel drive enthusiasts at the rally.

See you there

 

[Todd Adams]

The Blue Ribbon Coalition and USA-ALL are having a pro-land use rally on June 29th. It wll be on the steps of the Washington County Administration Building at 197 E. Tabernacle from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. There will be food there.
We really need to have a big turnout of four wheel drive enthusiasts at the rally.

See you there

What is the purpose of this rally?

 

[Don B]

I believe this is a general showing of support for access for everyone to our public lands. It is directed at Washington County to show that the public wants them to protect the publics access to lands administered by BLM and the Forest Service.

There may be some specific issues involved also, but I'm not sure with what I've seen on this.

 

[scoutabout]

Perhaps it's to counter the considerable effort that SUWA has been focusing on the area and especially Washington County.

 

[Don B]

I don't think it's so much SUWA this time, but rather to put pressure on the County to protect RS2477 ROW's. People have been cited by the BLM for driving on a road that has been illegally closed by BLM. Washington Co. has not been fighting to protect their citizens from these actions or keep this road that rightfully belongs to the citizens. The road in question is being given away as part of the Land Use Bill.

People everywhere, not just in Washington County need to let their local governments know that you demand that they protect your interests.

 

[scoutabout]

Yeah, you're probably right. I just jumped to my conclusion 'cause I had recently received an email from SUWA about something in Washington County. After looking at it again, it might be unrelated.

Dear Steve,

As a friend of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, we wanted to invite you to a free, special event.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING:

WASHINGTON COUNTY GROWTH AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 2006

Save the Date! Help us protect the Zion-Mojave proposed wilderness by attending a public hearing sponsored by the Utah Wilderness Coalition to discuss draft legislation recently proposed by Utah's Senator Robert Bennett and Representative Jim Matheson, titled the Washington County Growth and Conservation Act of 2006 (Growth Act.)

What: Public Hearing on Washington County Growth Act

When: Thursday, June 29th
from 7:00-9:00 pm

Where: Westminster College
Gore College of Business
Gore Auditorium
1840 So 1300 East
Salt Lake City, UT

Why?

In March of 2006, Senator Robert Bennett and Representative Jim Matheson of Utah proposed draft legislation for Washington County, titled the "Washington County Growth and Conservation Act of 2006." The draft proposal calls for the sell-off of 40 square miles of public lands to private developers--lands that belong to all Americans. The Growth Act also fails to protect over 70% of lands in Washington County that qualify for wilderness designation as part of America's Redrock Wilderness Act. The proposal makes minimal conservation gains, and fuels uncontrollable sprawl by mandating hundreds of miles of new roads, ORV trails, utility corridors and pipelines--all at a cost to Utah taxpayers.

In its current form, the Washington County Growth Act would permanently change the face of southwestern Utah, and because other counties in Utah are waiting in the wings to see how the Washington County process moves forward, the bill could set a disturbing precedent for the entire state. Yet the general public has been largely excluded from the planning process. The Utah Wilderness Coalition, along with concerned citizens, conservation groups and local politicians along the Wasatch Front have formally requested public hearings to discuss our concerns over this legislation. Determined to make their voices heard, the public now has an opportunity to attend a formal public hearing and submit comments on the bill.

To ensure that the public's voice is heard, The Utah Wilderness Coalition will be sponsoring a public hearing on Thursday June 29th from 7-9 pm in the Gore Auditorium at Westminster College in Salt Lake City to allow constituents along the Wasatch front to submit oral and written comments on the legislation. This may be your only opportunity to express your concerns before final legislation is introduced in Washington DC. We urge you to mark your calendars and to plan on joining us.

Growth is inevitable, but at this time we have a unique opportunity in Utah to plan our communities for the future, while protecting our open space and preserving our quality of life. The proposal as drafted by Senator Bennett and Representative Matheson decreases open space, threatens our wild heritage and promotes sprawling development. Help us send the message that Utah deserves better!

To review the draft legislation and an analysis of the bill by the Utah Wilderness Coalition, or To find out more about the Zion-Mojave proposed wilderness, please visit http://www.zionmojavewilderness.org
<http://www.zionmojavewilderness.org>

For more information about the hearing, please contact Jeremy
Christensen: (801) 486-3161, ext 3991 or jeremy@suwa.org.

Thanks!

Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance 425 East 100 South Salt lake City, Utah 84111 (801) 486-3161

http://www.suwa.org

PS: If you would prefer that we not contact you via email, please let us know by calling or emailing us!

 

[great scott]

I am going to try to make this one. Should we wear club/U4 shirts and hats? Should we bring poster and such? what can we expect? Is the media going to be there? Why is it so late, wouldn't business hours be better?

 

[Don B]

I am going to try to make this one. Should we wear club/U4 shirts and hats? Should we bring poster and such? what can we expect? Is the media going to be there? Why is it so late, wouldn't business hours be better?

Good questions.
I'm just passing this information on so I'll try to get some answers on this.

 

[great scott]

Did I read some were that there will be a rally in SLC that same night? If these rallys are going to happen we need to make them big. Small turn outs say no one cares, we can't let that happen!

 

[scoutabout]

The SUWA rally is on the same day in SLC. That's also why I thought maybe the issues were related.

 

[Don B]

I'm trying to get some further information on the rally and will post it here when I get it.

We really do need to get a big turnout for this. The ATV club is leading the charge in Washington County right now and we need to show that the four wheel drive community is in the fight also.

It figures that if SUWA is doing a "public hearing" on Washington Co. issues, that they would be holding it in SLC.

 

[Don B]

Some further info,

Yeah, wear club hats and tee shirts. It will be good to show that many different groups are supporting this. Bring posters, something showing support for public access. Should be fun and food without a lot of political speech.

This rally is to demonstrate that there are a lot of us out here that want the County to work to keep our roads and trails open.

BRC should be getting a press release out on this.

A big turnout is important for this. If the Commission sees 500 people that want to access their trails it will make a difference. If the turnout is low, it will show that we don't really care and they may as well bargain with the enviro groups.

 

[chadr]

Has anyone contacted the local newspaper (www.thespectrum.com ) to tell them about it? I think that they would be able to broadcast it out a bit better to the people that are not on the forums.

I know that there are quite a few people out there that would like to be involved, but they just don't get told about it.

 

[Don B]

I believe that BRC and USA-ALL were planning a press release.

I just saw an action alert from USA-ALL declaring this Southern Utah Access Week.

The Tri-State ATV Club there in Hurricane are the ones putting this together,
I'll check with them to see if there's an announcement planned for the Spectrum. I'm sure they appreciate all the help they can get spreading the word on this event.

 

[utahmike]

USA-ALL and BRC are the ones putting this together. Some local clubs (tri-state ATV has been instrumental) are helping out a lot. It was planned long before we knew of SUWA's "public hearing" it is not directly related. The rally is NOT to bash Washington County and their lack of support for RS 2477 roads nor the land use plan that is a give away to the Enviros. Obviously we have our opinions on these issues but the focus of this rally is a positive, upbeat event, to promote motorized access to public land in Utah, and encourage elected officials to support wholesome recreational activities, such as off-roading. It is not a PROTEST. (But stay tuned for one on Salt Creek Road.) We need lots of people to show, we have a few state legislators coming to speak, and a free bar-b-que to say thanks for coming.
Show up in droves so we can show our unity and strength!

P.S. There will be a couple of Ads placed in the Spectrum for this event, I believe they will run sometime after Monday.

 

[Stephen]

Everyone in the St. George area really needs to try and attend this rally, its a BIG chance to show both the politicians and the media that we are willing to fight for our rights. So if you live down there GO! if you dont, call everyone you know down there and tell them to GO!. This is a big one guys, lets show our support!

 

[UtahFire]

Any report on how this rally went?

 

[Don B]

Yes, it went really well. Good turnout with a lot of different groups represented. I was told that they got over 400 signatures on a petition they had there to sign.

 

[utahmike]

Sorry for the delayed reply...
A BIIIIGGGG "THANKS!" To those who showed or encouraged others to go. We had about 400 people there! It was a success. We would like to plan one for the State Capitol and quadriple the participation. Stay tuned...

Thanks Again!