*****UPDATES*****
(1)CEDAR MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS BILL
INTRODUCED IN CONGRESS
(2)EMERGENCY PROTECTION ORDER FILED
BY CITIZENS TO SAVE FACTORY BUTTE
FROM OFF-ROAD VEHICLE DAMAGE
(3)FROM MOAB WITH LOVE
(4)COMMENT DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR VERNAL
DRAFT RMP COMMENTS
*****EVENTS*****
(5)SLIDE SHOW TOUR
===========================================================
*****UPDATES*****
(1)CEDAR MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS BILL INTRODUCED IN CONGRESS
On Wednesday, April 16th, congressional support for protecting
Utah wild lands took another step forward as Congressman Rob
Bishop from Utah's first district reintroduced legislation to
designate 100,000 acres of public land in the Cedar Mountains as
wilderness. The Utah Test and Training Range Protection Act of
2005 (H.R.1503), if passed by Congress, will permanently
establish protection for this vast and pristine natural area in
Western Utah's Great Basin Desert.
The proposed Cedar Mountains Wilderness lies on the eastern edge
of the Great Salt Lake Desert, a mere eighty miles from Salt Lake
City, and is home to mule, deer, pronghorn antelope, coyote,
bobcats, bats, golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, ravens, reptiles,
and occasionally mountain lion. The 100,000 acre area is a prime
example of western Utah's unique basin and range topography
featuring pinyon and juniper covered mountain peaks rising over
6,000 feet in elevation. Over half of the proposed wilderness
currently lacks protections and is vulnerable to off-road vehicle
abuse. Overall, the Cedar Mountains bill would increase the
amount of protected BLM Wilderness in Utah by over 400%.
The Cedar Mountains Wilderness proposal marks a rare and
promising occasion in the effort to protect Utah wilderness. It
is the first time that conservationists and Utah public officials
have unanimously agreed to a good wilderness proposal. This
proposal is supported by a coalition of public officials, private
property owners, conservation groups, defense groups, and
concerned citizen's. Congressman Matheson and Congressman Cannon
are cosponsors. There is no Senate version of the bill at this
time.
Among its accomplishments, Congressman Bishop's bill would
prevent nuclear waste storage at proposed waste site in Skull
Valley and preserve the use of the Utah Test and Training Range.
The Cedar Mountains Wilderness, while only a fraction of the
entire America's Redrock Wilderness Act, is a step in the right
direction for Utah wilderness. We have the opportunity to work
with the Utah delegation and various interest groups finally to
do what is ultimately best for Utah's BLM lands--protect them.
Looking ahead, we hope that Cedar Mountains Wilderness bill will
pass both chambers of Congress. In 2004, this bill passed the
House of Representatives but did not move in the Senate. Stay
tuned, as we will be in touch with updates on the progress of
this bill.
(2)EMERGENCY PROTECTION ORDER FILED BY CITIZENS TO SAVE FACTORY
BUTTE FROM OFF-ROAD VEHICLE DAMAGE
Rising 1,000 feet above the desert floor just north of
Hanksville, Utah, Factory Butte is an internationally recognized
scenic landmark. At its base lies an ancient seabed of
undulating hills and knife-edged ridges where shark's teeth and
other marine fossils can still be found. Hundreds of thousands
of tourists traveling Utah's Scenic Byway 24 from Hanksville,
Utah to Capitol Reef National Park are awed each year by this
unique and otherworldly landscape. To the dismay of many,
uncontrolled use of off-road vehicles such as ATVs and
high-performance dirt bikes are eroding delicate soils and
leaving wheel ruts virtually everywhere, even at the scenic east
approach to Capitol Reef. The scars of ORV use have become so
numerous that professional photographers who have long been drawn
to the region's breathtaking colors and textures complain that
its nearly impossible to find a view unmarred by tire tracks.
Earlier this month, a group of Wayne County residents and
businesses, together with SUWA, filed an Emergency Protection
Order with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in an effort to
stop spiraling off-road vehicle (ORV) damage around Factory
Butte. If granted, the Order would close the region to damaging
ORV use pending completion of the BLM's revised Resource
Management Plan (RMP) for that district. In its petition, the
coalition offers a sensible management alternative which protects
the majestic landform and its surrounding fragile Mancos shale
badlands by limiting ORVs to designated roads and a manageable
ORV recreation area, a 640-acre parcel known today as "Swing Arm
City."
According to Randy Ramsley, owner of the nearby Caineville Mesa
Market and director of the advocacy group, Friends of Factory
Butte, "the solution balances protection of the area's unique and
striking formations while allowing ample opportunities for
motorized recreation."
(3)FROM MOAB WITH LOVE
A huge thank you goes out to all our members in Colorado and Utah
who sent emails and made phonecalls to Moab businesses regarding
our open letter to Governor Huntsman. More than 100 Utah
business owners signed the letter that appeared in a full-page ad
in the Salt Lake Tribune on Sunday, March 27.
The ad clearly demonstrated the growing breadth of support for
balanced management of our public lands. A few off-roaders in
online discussion groups, alarmed by the long list of businesses,
reacted to the non-confrontational letter by targeting the most
mainstream supporters for a retaliatory boycott. It was highly
effective when these businesses, who rely in no small part on
tourism revenues, also heard from folks who supported their stand
for the land.
Most of the businesses who signed on to the open letter to the
governor reported that an overwhelming majority of the comments
they received from the public were favorable. This has made a
huge impression! Word is spreading that taking a public stand to
protect the land can be good for business--even in conservative
southern Utah. Rest assured that the impact of your emails and
phone calls will be felt for months and years ahead as we
continue to expand grassroots for balanced public lands
management.
(4)COMMENT DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR VERNAL DRAFT RMP COMMENTS
In February, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its
Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Vernal Field
Office--the document that will determine where oil and gas
drilling can take place, what designated trails off-road vehicles
will have to stick to, and what places will be protected for
their wilderness values.
The Vernal Draft plan does little to protect citizen proposed
wilderness outside of existing Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs), and
in a nutshell, BLM is giving away the store to the oil and gas
industry and motorized recreation interests.
In particular, outside of already protected WSAs, the agency's
draft plan would leave less than 1% of the nearly 2 million acres
of public land managed by the Vernal field office completely
off-limits to oil and gas leasing. Potential wilderness lands
(outside of WSAs) would be hit hard--of the nearly half a million
acres of proposed wilderness (about 72% of which the BLM has
previously agreed has wilderness characteristics), over 400,000
acres will be open to oil and gas development.
The off-road vehicle (ORV) special interest groups get a goodie
bag too: BLM proposes to designate nearly 5,000 miles of
motorized routes, hundreds of miles of which penetrate proposed
wilderness lands. To put this into perspective, its only 3200
miles from Vernal, UT to Anchorage, AK!
The bottom line is that BLM's draft plan would allow spectacular
public lands, such as Upper Desolation Canyon, White River,
Bitter Creek, much of Utah's Bookcliffs and scenic canyons near
Dinosaur National Monument--to be controlled by the oil and gas
industry and motorized recreation special interests.
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT AND SEND A LETTER TO THE VERNAL BLM TODAY!!
THE BLM'S WEBSITE AND EMAIL SYSTEM ARE CURRENTLY DOWN RIGHT NOW,
SO PLEASE SEND A LETTER TO THE MAILING ADDRESS LISTED BELOW. THE
ORIGINAL COMMENT DEADLINE WAS APRIL 14TH, BUT THAT HAS BEEN
EXTENDED, SO WE HAVE A FEW MORE WEEKS TO GET MORE OF YOUR
COMMENTS IN.
STREET ADDRESS:
Jerry Kenczka, Supervisory Planning Coordinator
Bureau of Land Management
170 South 500 East
Vernal, UT 84078
Request that they adopt the Great Dinosaur/Book Cliffs Heritage
Plan, the citizen's proposal that would protect a few special
places from oil and gas development and would preserve a few
places for non-motorized recreation. For more detailed
information on the Vernal Draft Plan, go to
www.suwa.org/page.php?page_id=178
THANK YOU!!
*****EVENTS*****
(5)SLIDE SHOW TOUR
SUWA's "Wild Utah: America's Redrock Wilderness" slide show will
tour Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and more in
April and May. The full schedule can be found at www.suwa.org.
Click on "Events" in the top menu, then "Slideshow Tour" in the
side menu.
To have a copy of the slide show on CD sent to you so that you
can host a slide show for your family and friends, please contact
Sean Saville at sean@suwa.org or (202) 546-2215.
(1)CEDAR MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS BILL
INTRODUCED IN CONGRESS
(2)EMERGENCY PROTECTION ORDER FILED
BY CITIZENS TO SAVE FACTORY BUTTE
FROM OFF-ROAD VEHICLE DAMAGE
(3)FROM MOAB WITH LOVE
(4)COMMENT DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR VERNAL
DRAFT RMP COMMENTS
*****EVENTS*****
(5)SLIDE SHOW TOUR
===========================================================
*****UPDATES*****
(1)CEDAR MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS BILL INTRODUCED IN CONGRESS
On Wednesday, April 16th, congressional support for protecting
Utah wild lands took another step forward as Congressman Rob
Bishop from Utah's first district reintroduced legislation to
designate 100,000 acres of public land in the Cedar Mountains as
wilderness. The Utah Test and Training Range Protection Act of
2005 (H.R.1503), if passed by Congress, will permanently
establish protection for this vast and pristine natural area in
Western Utah's Great Basin Desert.
The proposed Cedar Mountains Wilderness lies on the eastern edge
of the Great Salt Lake Desert, a mere eighty miles from Salt Lake
City, and is home to mule, deer, pronghorn antelope, coyote,
bobcats, bats, golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, ravens, reptiles,
and occasionally mountain lion. The 100,000 acre area is a prime
example of western Utah's unique basin and range topography
featuring pinyon and juniper covered mountain peaks rising over
6,000 feet in elevation. Over half of the proposed wilderness
currently lacks protections and is vulnerable to off-road vehicle
abuse. Overall, the Cedar Mountains bill would increase the
amount of protected BLM Wilderness in Utah by over 400%.
The Cedar Mountains Wilderness proposal marks a rare and
promising occasion in the effort to protect Utah wilderness. It
is the first time that conservationists and Utah public officials
have unanimously agreed to a good wilderness proposal. This
proposal is supported by a coalition of public officials, private
property owners, conservation groups, defense groups, and
concerned citizen's. Congressman Matheson and Congressman Cannon
are cosponsors. There is no Senate version of the bill at this
time.
Among its accomplishments, Congressman Bishop's bill would
prevent nuclear waste storage at proposed waste site in Skull
Valley and preserve the use of the Utah Test and Training Range.
The Cedar Mountains Wilderness, while only a fraction of the
entire America's Redrock Wilderness Act, is a step in the right
direction for Utah wilderness. We have the opportunity to work
with the Utah delegation and various interest groups finally to
do what is ultimately best for Utah's BLM lands--protect them.
Looking ahead, we hope that Cedar Mountains Wilderness bill will
pass both chambers of Congress. In 2004, this bill passed the
House of Representatives but did not move in the Senate. Stay
tuned, as we will be in touch with updates on the progress of
this bill.
(2)EMERGENCY PROTECTION ORDER FILED BY CITIZENS TO SAVE FACTORY
BUTTE FROM OFF-ROAD VEHICLE DAMAGE
Rising 1,000 feet above the desert floor just north of
Hanksville, Utah, Factory Butte is an internationally recognized
scenic landmark. At its base lies an ancient seabed of
undulating hills and knife-edged ridges where shark's teeth and
other marine fossils can still be found. Hundreds of thousands
of tourists traveling Utah's Scenic Byway 24 from Hanksville,
Utah to Capitol Reef National Park are awed each year by this
unique and otherworldly landscape. To the dismay of many,
uncontrolled use of off-road vehicles such as ATVs and
high-performance dirt bikes are eroding delicate soils and
leaving wheel ruts virtually everywhere, even at the scenic east
approach to Capitol Reef. The scars of ORV use have become so
numerous that professional photographers who have long been drawn
to the region's breathtaking colors and textures complain that
its nearly impossible to find a view unmarred by tire tracks.
Earlier this month, a group of Wayne County residents and
businesses, together with SUWA, filed an Emergency Protection
Order with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in an effort to
stop spiraling off-road vehicle (ORV) damage around Factory
Butte. If granted, the Order would close the region to damaging
ORV use pending completion of the BLM's revised Resource
Management Plan (RMP) for that district. In its petition, the
coalition offers a sensible management alternative which protects
the majestic landform and its surrounding fragile Mancos shale
badlands by limiting ORVs to designated roads and a manageable
ORV recreation area, a 640-acre parcel known today as "Swing Arm
City."
According to Randy Ramsley, owner of the nearby Caineville Mesa
Market and director of the advocacy group, Friends of Factory
Butte, "the solution balances protection of the area's unique and
striking formations while allowing ample opportunities for
motorized recreation."
(3)FROM MOAB WITH LOVE
A huge thank you goes out to all our members in Colorado and Utah
who sent emails and made phonecalls to Moab businesses regarding
our open letter to Governor Huntsman. More than 100 Utah
business owners signed the letter that appeared in a full-page ad
in the Salt Lake Tribune on Sunday, March 27.
The ad clearly demonstrated the growing breadth of support for
balanced management of our public lands. A few off-roaders in
online discussion groups, alarmed by the long list of businesses,
reacted to the non-confrontational letter by targeting the most
mainstream supporters for a retaliatory boycott. It was highly
effective when these businesses, who rely in no small part on
tourism revenues, also heard from folks who supported their stand
for the land.
Most of the businesses who signed on to the open letter to the
governor reported that an overwhelming majority of the comments
they received from the public were favorable. This has made a
huge impression! Word is spreading that taking a public stand to
protect the land can be good for business--even in conservative
southern Utah. Rest assured that the impact of your emails and
phone calls will be felt for months and years ahead as we
continue to expand grassroots for balanced public lands
management.
(4)COMMENT DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR VERNAL DRAFT RMP COMMENTS
In February, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its
Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Vernal Field
Office--the document that will determine where oil and gas
drilling can take place, what designated trails off-road vehicles
will have to stick to, and what places will be protected for
their wilderness values.
The Vernal Draft plan does little to protect citizen proposed
wilderness outside of existing Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs), and
in a nutshell, BLM is giving away the store to the oil and gas
industry and motorized recreation interests.
In particular, outside of already protected WSAs, the agency's
draft plan would leave less than 1% of the nearly 2 million acres
of public land managed by the Vernal field office completely
off-limits to oil and gas leasing. Potential wilderness lands
(outside of WSAs) would be hit hard--of the nearly half a million
acres of proposed wilderness (about 72% of which the BLM has
previously agreed has wilderness characteristics), over 400,000
acres will be open to oil and gas development.
The off-road vehicle (ORV) special interest groups get a goodie
bag too: BLM proposes to designate nearly 5,000 miles of
motorized routes, hundreds of miles of which penetrate proposed
wilderness lands. To put this into perspective, its only 3200
miles from Vernal, UT to Anchorage, AK!
The bottom line is that BLM's draft plan would allow spectacular
public lands, such as Upper Desolation Canyon, White River,
Bitter Creek, much of Utah's Bookcliffs and scenic canyons near
Dinosaur National Monument--to be controlled by the oil and gas
industry and motorized recreation special interests.
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT AND SEND A LETTER TO THE VERNAL BLM TODAY!!
THE BLM'S WEBSITE AND EMAIL SYSTEM ARE CURRENTLY DOWN RIGHT NOW,
SO PLEASE SEND A LETTER TO THE MAILING ADDRESS LISTED BELOW. THE
ORIGINAL COMMENT DEADLINE WAS APRIL 14TH, BUT THAT HAS BEEN
EXTENDED, SO WE HAVE A FEW MORE WEEKS TO GET MORE OF YOUR
COMMENTS IN.
STREET ADDRESS:
Jerry Kenczka, Supervisory Planning Coordinator
Bureau of Land Management
170 South 500 East
Vernal, UT 84078
Request that they adopt the Great Dinosaur/Book Cliffs Heritage
Plan, the citizen's proposal that would protect a few special
places from oil and gas development and would preserve a few
places for non-motorized recreation. For more detailed
information on the Vernal Draft Plan, go to
www.suwa.org/page.php?page_id=178
THANK YOU!!
*****EVENTS*****
(5)SLIDE SHOW TOUR
SUWA's "Wild Utah: America's Redrock Wilderness" slide show will
tour Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and more in
April and May. The full schedule can be found at www.suwa.org.
Click on "Events" in the top menu, then "Slideshow Tour" in the
side menu.
To have a copy of the slide show on CD sent to you so that you
can host a slide show for your family and friends, please contact
Sean Saville at sean@suwa.org or (202) 546-2215.
