By the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
Help the BLM stop San Juan County in its tracks: Since mid-summer, two San Juan County survey crews have been systematically driving and documenting every putative "highway" in the county. This includes, at a minimum, any abandoned jeep trail or mineral exploration route that existed before 1976, and any other old tire tracks that are visible on historical aerial photographs. Many of these R.S. 2477 claims wander haphazardly across Cedar Mesa. Re-opening them would threaten wilderness and priceless archeological sites. Recently, three San Juan County employees illegally drove toward the Moon House ruin within the Fish and Owl Creek Wilderness Study Area. The route driven by the County had been posted as closed to motorized vehicles since 1991, and the BLM had blocked the route with trees and rocks to prevent any travel. The bull-headed (and obviously lazy) County survey crew, however, chose to drive over or move these natural road-blocks rather than walk, leaving a wake of crushed cryptogamic soil.
Although the BLM has expressed concern that significant resources are being impacted by the County's activities, it has not yet taken any of the available legal actions. The BLM should be citing the County for trespass, and ordering the County to reclaim any damage done. Give the BLM some confidence to stand in the way of the County by writing to: Kent Walter, BLM-Monticello Field Office, P.O. Box 7, Monticello, UT 84535; fax (435) 587-1518. Better yet, give the County some grief by writing to or calling the commissioners at the San Juan County Clerk Office, P.O. Box 338, Monticello, UT 84535; Ph: (435)587-3223; Fax: (435)587-2425. Brawling at Baullies: The BLM recently proposed to chop-down nearly 2,000 acres of pinon pine and juniper forest on Little Baullies Mesa with a monstrous mower, and re-seed the area with a seed mixture that includes non-natives. The mesa is located between the Elk Ridge portion of the Abajo Mountains and the upper Comb Wash (Arch Canyon) drainage, and overlooks the Cedar Mesa-Grand Gulch area to the south. Little Baullies is part of the Cedar Mesa Area of Critical Environmental Concern for its abundant significant cultural sites, and its scenic and natural values associated with primitive recreation.
Although the Mesa was chained in 1960, (chaining involves dragging an anchor chain between two bulldozers, ripping out all the trees and other vegetation in its path while churning the soil and destroying cultural sites) over the last 38 years it returned to its primitive splendor. Not for long though, if the agency is allowed to unleash its lawn-mower on steroids. The proposed action may not be as devastating to the soil and cultural resources as chaining, but the impact on visuals and wilderness quality would be similar enough, and the pinon juniper ecosystem, with all of its inhabitants, would be completely destroyed.
The BLM claims that the proposed action is necessary to prevent catastrophic fire and to reduce competition between elk and livestock by creating more forage. Basically, the BLM is using industrial force to form an artificial, unsustainable landscape. Instead, the agency should consider entirely removing cattle from Little Baullies and Comb Wash. Also, it may be that past range-creating (and ecosystem devastating) projects and other Amanagement@ activities have elevated game herds to unhealthy levels. Regardless, it is totally obnoxious to clear-cut the mesa under any scenario. Please write Kent Walter at the BLM to express your outrage.
The BLM backs itself onto the edge of a canyon rim: The BLM is processing Legacy Energy Corporation=s nominations for oil and gas lease parcels on Hatch Point above Lockhart Basin, a citizen=s proposed wilderness area. The agency recently issued an environmental assessment (EA) with an abbreviated time period for public comment. SUWA=s request for extension of the comment period was denied, but some of our act-in-a-flash activists got letters in before the door closed.
The EA addressed the impacts of adding lease stipulations designed to mitigate visual and wildlife (especially bighorn sheep) conflicts. The protection of these resource values is what prompted the larger Lockhart Basin/Canyon Rims Plan Amendment EIS (Plan) (see April/May Zephyr), within which this area was originally included. Thus, the BLM gains nothing by leasing the parcels at this time, yet it stands to lose the benefit of a full analysis in an EIS (not to mention a potential appeal).
In addition, the BLM is not required to issue the leases, and may always reserve the right not to lease at all. It appears, however, that BLM State Director, Bill Lamb=s chest caved under Legacy Energy=s directive finger. Legacy may now have the agency set-up for a fall, since issuance of the leases will create certain valuable rights in Legacy that could prove inconsistent with the Plan. Then what? Well, either the public forks over some loot or lives with oil and gas wells in one of the most scenic places on the planet. Tell the BLM to stop leasing away your favorite places to industry. Write Brad Palmer, Moab BLM, 82 East Dogwood Av., Moab, UT 84532; Fax: (435)259-2106, or Bill Lamb, BLM State Office, 324 South State Street, Suite 301, P.O. Box 45155; Fax (435)539-4013.
BLM a-la shish-kabob. If the agency falls, it may end up skewered by a couple drill rigs. Despite SUWA=s efforts, Legacy currently has an approved permit to drill below the rim in Lockhart Basin (see April/May Zephyr). Now, the company has filed another APD, and the BLM is diligently preparing the EA for its approval. Ouch!!
The ARAC@ Is Wacked. Besides denying SUWA a seat on the Resource Advisory Council (ARAC@) (see last Zephyr at 8), the Council is effectively stone-walling recommendations by the public that share the same view as SUWA. As you know (see Aug/Sept Zephyr at 10-11), the RAC formed a sub-committee (sub-RAC) to address the Comb Wash and Lockhart Basin Plans. This committee is supposed to operate by consensus, forwarding only those recommendations to the RAC and the BLM that every member agreed with. Not the case. Instead, the chairman of the sub-RAC, Hardy Redd, changed the rules and plans to present the committee=s majority opinion (comprised of grazing and extractive interests) to the RAC, allowing SUWA to give its dissenting opinion. So, the national public gets screwed twice. Avoid a third by staying involved with the Comb Wash and Lockhart Basin Plans. Write Kent Walter and Brad Palmer at the above addresses and request to have your name added to the Ainterested public@ list for these two plans and any other proposals in the area.
Get High on Public Lands: The publication entitled AHow Parents Can Help Children Live Marijuana Free,@ which includes an introduction by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), provides helpful warning signs for identifying children who are using marijuana or drugs of any kind. The list of social signs of Aregular users@ includes Aexcessive preoccupation with social causes, race relations, environmental issues, etc.@ Another warning sign is Acamp-outs and stay-overs (to distance themselves from parents).@ That Hansen . . . what=s he been smok=n?
McHARG REPORTS FROM MOAB...
Drilling In Nine Mile Canyon: Mission Energy filed an Application for Permit to Drill within the BLM Nine Mile Inventory Unit and the citizen's wilderness proposal, HR1500 -- an area rich with the prehistoric remains of the Fremont Culture. Although the BLM did not recommend the area for wilderness study in 1980 because of private land issues, acquisition of the private land in 1992 has prompted the BLM to state that "it seems likely that an inventory would demonstrate the presence of wilderness characteristics," and may, consequently, be designated as a WSA. Unfortunately, as recognized by the environmental assessment (EA), the proposed action would impair the area's wilderness qualities since the "low productivity of the site and its marginal characteristics for reclamation, would present an intrusion for decades to come."
The EA also analyzes the "BLM preferred alternative" where drilling would occur along the existing road, however, the consequences of either action would remain essentially the same. Regardless of analysis, a "finding of no significant impact" should not be issued, if only because of the certain impact on wilderness -- a significant resource of enormous national concern. Comments are due September 23, 1998, however, letters received after that date should still make it into the file, and at least get you on the mailing list. Address letters to Dennis Willis, BLM, Price Field Office, 125 South 600 West, Price, UT 84501; fax (435)636-3657.
ORVs Threaten Wilderness: Wilderness advocates would agree that the idea of Wilderness is to preserve nature unimpaired for future generations. Unfortunately, many off-road vehicle (ORV) groups, like the Blue Ribbon Coalition (BRC), ignore this primary and important reason for wilderness, and instead view wilderness as a playground for recreation. Adhering to this concept, they attempt to pit hikers against other recreationists in an "us against them" battle. In a recent article, BRC claimed that wilderness advocacy organizations are "selfish and mean spirited," are "nothing more than 'hate groups'," and are inciting violence. The truth is that the BRC and other ORV lobby groups may be all these things:
* ORVers represent only 13% of public land users, yet have an exclusive fund devoted to ORV trail construction derived from gasoline taxes (that we all pay). Approximately 70% of this money goes to motorized trail construction. Is it selfish that about 87 out of 100 people fund the construction of trails that they do not use, especially when 75% consider ORV use to be incompatible with other uses?
* ORV lobby organizations like the Blue Ribbon Coalition, are funded by Chevron, Exxon, American Petroleum Institute, Suzuki, Yamaha, Walt Disney, Marathon, Kawasaki, and Honda. This big money is used to pressure the BLM into skirting its mandates requiring that the agency locate trails to minimize damage to soil, watershed, vegetation, harassment of wildlife, and conflicts with other uses.
* Wilderness proponents are not advocating for "the elimination of all human use of all our backcountry areas," as claimed by the BRC. In fact, over half of the citizen's proposal is within 2 miles of a road, and 90% is within 3 miles. The proposal would leave 60% of BLM managed land as non-wilderness. In the Moab area, 95% of the Jeep Safari trails would be left open by our proposal. Similarly, 98% of bicycle routes shown on Moab area bike maps would be left open.
* In 1942, George Patton trained soldiers on 11.5 million acres in the Mojave Desert of California. The ruts made by the tanks are still evident today. As an analogy, the citizen's wilderness proposal represents some 8.5 million acres of the last remaining wild lands. Should these lands be scarred by the machines of weekend warriors?
* Scientific studies show that a motorcycle disturbs 3/4 ton of soil in one mile of travel, and a 4 wheel drive vehicle impacts between 3.3 and 50 tons of soil, depending on the soil type.
* In the most benign conditions, dry ground and straight travel, a motorcycle rips-up 1 acre every 20 miles, and a 4 wheel drive vehicle chews 1 acre every 6 miles. Either machine can cover many times that distance in a given day. A hiker, on the other hand, displaces only 1 acre every 40 miles, and it takes many days to cover that distance.
Wilderness proponents are not attacking ORV users. They are simply pointing out, that even though the devastation caused by vehicles may not be deliberate, it cannot be avoided. Even the patron saint of wildlife, St. Francis of Assisi, couldn't ride a motorcycle up a hill without damaging it. Advocates for wilderness are not selfish extremists, they are just asking for a few places where the artificial forces do not conquer the setting. But, I guess it's easy to name-call on the wilderness "playground" when Big Oil and Big Industry are standing behind you as bodyguards. Call SUWA at (435)259-5440 for more information.
Massive Oil and Gas Development in the Book Cliffs: In June, a draft environmental assessment (EA) was released that addressed a proposal to drill 969 wells, construct 267 miles of new road, and re-construct 139 miles of what the proposal labeled as "existing" routes (i.e., turn faint jeep trails into heavy-duty roads). Many of these wells and roads would be developed within the Lower Bitter Creek unit of the citizen's wilderness proposal, and lands designated by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) as "critical winter range" for Mule Deer and Elk.
The EA failed to fully consider impacts on the many sensitive, threatened, or endangered species that exist in the project area. The EA also neglected to address wilderness, a highly controversial issue, in direct violation of the National Environmental Policy Act. In response to public comment, the BLM is preparing a final EA, which will be released shortly. Please contact Duane De Paepe, BLM Vernal Field Office, 170 South 500 East, Vernal, UT 84078; (ph)435-781-4400; (fax)435-781-4410 to obtain a copy and submit comment letters.
GROENE IN SALT LAKE CITY...
Stupid Anti-Wilderness Legislation Moves in the Senate: By the time this is printed, Utah Senator Bob Bennett will probably have held hearings on S. 2385, his anti-wilderness bill for the San Rafael Swell. It appears the Utah delegation is making a serious bid to pass the legislation before the upcoming election. Similar legislation awaits a floor vote in the
House.
Bennett's bill, called the San Rafael Swell National Heritage and Conservation Act, would eliminate Wilderness Study Area protection for 125,000 acres in Emery and deletes from consideration 612,000 acres proposed by Utah citizens for wilderness in the San Rafael Swell. This bill provides less wilderness protection than was included in the horrible wilderness bill Bennett and Hatch tried to push in the 104th Congress.
Please contact your Senator today to warn them that S. 2385, the San Rafael Swell National Heritage and Conservation Act, is not swell, and the Redrock Wilderness should be protected. Mail can be sent to any Senator at United States Senate, Washington, D.C., 20510. Or call 202-224-3121 to get your Senator's phone #.
Governor Gags Greens, Again: Utah Governor Mike Leavitt blocked the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance from a seat on the Utah Bureau of Land Management Advisory Council with a decision made final when new appointments were announced on August 21. Leavitt shares control of committee selection with the BLM. The council is heavily tilted to commercial users, with minimal representation by citizens concerned about the environment. Leavitt claimed in the national media that he wants all citizens to work together under his title of 'enlibra.' 'Enlibra' turns out to be politician speak for 'only Friends of the Governor need apply.'
Leavitt's spokesperson told the media the Governor would have loved to put SUWA on the council, but that SUWA's bylaws prohibited the organization from participating -- and Clinton gets all the credit as the politician best able to provide the public creative answers. This is the second time in four months Leavitt has stopped participation by conservationists. In May, Leavitt barred environmental representatives from sitting on the Central Utah Water Conservancy District board. The Governor even selected for the committee an off-road vehicle advocate the BLM had previously cited for using explosives to clear a route for his jeep.
The BLM State Director Bill Lamb is also responsible for SUWA being excluded from the advisory committee. BLM's unwillingness to allow balanced representation proves the agency is still shackled to extractive industries, and ignores the national interest in the public's lands. But experience has taught us to expect nothing more from Lamb.
State Director Gets Spanked for Refusing to Provide Information: The Utah BLM improved some after Clinton's election, but management has been in decline for the past couple of years. As an example, the agency has returned to its bad habits of withholding public information. State Director Bill Lamb refused to provide SUWA documents which disclosed how the BLM's Resource Advisory Committee decided to approve chaining as a fire reclamation tool. SUWA made the request for information under the Freedom of Information Act, and appealed the denial. In a decision dated August 12, the Office of the Solicitor overturned Lamb's decision and ordered him to make the documents available to SUWA.
National Monument: It appears the BLM's legacy with the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument may be a new record for the greatest waste of money ever expended on a plan. The proclamation establishing the area already made the difficult decisions to prohibit future oil, gas, or hard rock mineral development. It is unclear what, if any, additional decisions the BLM will make at the end of the three year planning process that is sucking limited resources from other BLM programs. The agency has suggested it may refuse to make decisions about grazing, road closures or wilderness.
The agency also appears poised to promote tourism through the monument: the agency's most recent update letter raises an alternative of accommodating and increasing recreation. The BLM has also proposed a fee structure that would include a pay-off to local governments, the same governments that have sued to disestablish the monument, illegally bladed roads in the monument, and opposed a land exchange which benefits both Utah's school children and the monument.
The Monument designation may turn out to be the worse thing that could have happened to the Escalante region if the BLM uses the monument as an excuse to improve roads and promote the area for tourism, and refuses to make tough decisions on grazing, wilderness and road closures.
BLM Says Kill Wildlife in the Monument: BLM is continuing to allow the federal agency, Animal Damage Control (we know they've changed their name for P.R. reasons, but we refuse to go along), to kill wildlife in the national monument to protect domestic livestock. The agency at this time is refusing to consider in the monument plan whether ADC should be stopped from killing in the future.
Adios: After a decade of involvement with SUWA, it's time for me to leave the organization. Stiles allowed me to rant in the Zephyr for most of the past ten years, and defended me numerous times when my bits upset this corporation or that agency. The Zephyr has been the most valuable information source about southern Utah public lands for a long time, and I'm glad for the chance to be a small part of the paper. Thanks Jim.
LIZ THOMAS IN CEDAR CITY...
BLM Backhoes The West Desert: The House Range/Warm Springs BLM recently issued a decision to allow the immediate installation of 26 small game water catchments, or guzzlers, in the West Desert. Nineteen of these guzzlers are located within the Cricket Mountains and Red Tops, newly inventoried potential wilderness units. In defiance of the 30-day regulatory appeal period, the BLM Area Manager put the decision in full force and effect on the day it was issued. Backhoes were out digging before any dust could settle on the decision.
This decision sucks. First, the BLM flip-flopped on its decision to use hand tools for the guzzlers' installation. In direct contradiction of its original proposal (which included no heavy equipment), the BLM decided to rev up the backhoes to install the tanks. Similar guzzlers had been installed using only hand tools, confirming that the use of backhoes was entirely unnecessary. Secondly, the BLM's environmental assessment (EA) only considered the effects of installing a single guzzler, rather than putting 26 of them in potential wilderness areas. And finally, the BLM inexplicably allowed the guzzlers to be installed prior to the expiration of the public's regulatory appeal deadline.
We'll be watching future project proposals from the House Range/Warm Springs BLM and insist that, at a minimum, federal laws be followed.
Cedar City BLM Proposes Same Thing in HR 1500 Area: It must be the season of the guzzler in the West Desert. The Cedar City BLM office is proposing to install two of them in the Wah Wah Mountains, in an HR 1500 area. Cedar City BLM has already installed 14 of these things this summer, but had deferred action on these two, as the sites were controversial. Probably emboldened by the House Range/Warm Springs BLM stealth attack, Cedar City is forging ahead with these final two.
The heretofore arid West Desert is becoming littered with water tanks to serve, primarily, the non-native chukar partridge. It's not too late to stop these last two guzzlers. You can request that the BLM locate these guzzlers outside of HR 1500 areas by writing BLM, 176 East D.L. Sargent Drive, Cedar City, UT 84720
BLM Chaining and Fire Rehabilitation: It's also the wildfire season in the West Desert, and with wildfires, can chaining be far behind? Answer -- not where BLM lands in Utah are concerned! The Cedar City BLM has issued several decisions in response to recent wildfires. The decisions generally include chaining as one of the rehab actions, such as the Minersville Fire Rehab Plan that calls for chaining 2600 acres, and the Table Grounds Fire Rehab Plan calls for chaining approximately 230 acres.
Let BLM State Director Bill Lamb know that the BLM should be employing less lethal and invasive methods in its quest to rehabilitate burned public lands. BLM - Utah State Office, PO Box 45155, Salt Lake City, UT 84145-0155.
Logging in Roadless Area Averted: The Escalante Ranger District has agreed to stay out of the Hog Ranch roadless area, near Box Death Hollow Wilderness Area that was previously slated to be logged as part of a "salvage" project. SUWA's appeal of the initial decision was dismissed. However, the District Ranger reconsidered his decision, in light of the roadless area concerns.
Thanks to everyone who sent letters to the Dixie National Forest and/or the Escalante Ranger District! You can let District Ranger Kevin Schulkoski know that you appreciate his efforts -- 755 West Main, Escalante, UT 84726
Hancock Peak Roadless Area Under the Gun (or chainsaw): The Hog Ranch rescue is the good news. The bad news is that there are more forest projects on the horizon that propose developments (logging, roads) in other roadless areas in the Dixie. One of the most threatening proposals is the South Spruce Ecosystem Rehabilitation Project (SSERP), which includes Hancock Peak roadless area, east of Cedar Breaks National Monument.
The maps in the DEIS that show proposed logging and road building do not mention or show roadless area boundaries. A mere oversight by the USFS? Yeah, right. The Dixie has never been keen on notifying the public that roadless areas are included in their projects, even though SUWA has raised this concern numerous times.
It's not too late to obtain a copy of the SSERP DEIS (don't wait for the movie) and let the Dixie know that logging and road building in the Hancock Peak roadless area is unacceptable management of this wonderful area. Your comments let the Dixie know that their actions and decisions are being monitored by folks who actually care about forest health, rather than the amount of board feet of lumber that can be hauled out. Send comments to Hugh Thompson, Supervisor, Dixie National Forest, 82 North 100 East, Cedar City, UT 84720.