Dear HCN,
I couldn’t agree more
with you that Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt was perceptive
enough to know he was taking on a no-win challenge as secretary of
Interior (HCN, 5/1/95). In that regard, I would like to address a
misconception about rural politics in Utah.
It is
easy to point toward county governing bodies as throwbacks to the
days when cattlemen ruled the West, but Grand County, Utah, is one
example of how the voice of reason rings loud and clear but is
ignored by organizations as diverse as the Southern Utah Wilderness
Alliance and the Western Association of Land
Users.
The Grand County Council, a seven-member
governing body, held three public hearings, as requested by Utah
Gov. Leavitt, to make a recommendation for wilderness designation
in the county. They posted maps, the hearings were well attended,
written comments were accepted. The result of that undertaking was
a recommendation of more than 200,000 acres, a figure greater than
the total proposed by the BLM in their final EIS for Grand County.
Was anyone happy? I think that the average citizen of Grand County
was happy, but the Western Association of Land Users and SUWA
screamed foul. Shades of the Babbitt
dilemma?
Let’s acknowledge some of the
accomplishments and ongoing efforts of the Grand County, Utah,
governing body during the past two years regarding environmental
issues: It stopped the costly and controversial construction of the
Bookcliffs Road; assisted The Nature Conservancy in obtaining some
irreplaceable property along the Colorado River, known as the
Mayberry Orchards, a controversial decision for which they were and
still are criticized; welcomed The Nature Conservancy’s purchase
and development of the Matheson Wetlands Preserve, the only
wetlands on the Colorado River in the state of Utah; participated
in a cooperative effort with the BLM in developing a management
plan for a sensitive, but highly impacted area known as the Sand
Flats Initiative (Americorps was integrated into this innovative
plan due to county council efforts – in particular Councilman Bill
Hedden); participated actively in the creation of a Canyon Country
Partnership which involves local, state and federal land-management
agencies, cooperatively working toward problem-solving through
face-to-face dialogue; and adopted changes in existing zoning and
subdivision ordinances allowing Planned Unit Developments as an
option to standard practices in order to help preserve open
spaces.
These things were accomplished by people
possessing common sense, elected by people with common sense. Some
of these projects were pushed forward despite tacit opposition from
well-known environmental groups.
If someone needs
to bash county commissioners, be specific as to issues and counties
involved. “Don’t you see? That’s the wager I’m making – that the
West is ready to protect the federal land itself,” Bruce Babbitt
said to Ed Marston. I’m betting with your Mr. Babbitt. Thank you
for your endorsement of the voice of reason, even in the backward
West.
Paul J.
Menard
Moab,
Utah
The writer is a biologist
and former county commissioner in Grand
County.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Stand up for reason in rural Utah.
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