The Emery County Public Land Use bill was introduced in the Senate last week.
Matt Whitlock and Romel Nicholas from Sen. Orrin Hatch’s office spoke with the Emery County Progress to inform them of this latest development.
Whitlock said, “This bill has been 23 years in the making and it’s unique. It brings people from both poles, the environmental to the grazers. It will conserve more than 1 million acres. It’s a process that brought all stakeholders to the table.”
Nicholas said, “The Public Lands Initiative collapsed. It involved a lot of counties and it was a comprehensive package.”
After Sen. Hatch announced his retirement he asked us to focus on what was the most mature proposal from the Initiative and able to pass.
The Emery County bill was a county-wide effort, it was the most mature, developed and vetted. The bill itself takes 97 percent of the current WSAs and puts it under permanent wilderness protection.
It develops a National Conservation Area with clearly designed purposes including recreation, grazing and paleontological. It will include logical protections for the Cleveland/Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry. The bill creates a balance.
It will finalize roads in the region and access. It spans more than 1 million acres. This bill is post PLI and post Bear’s Ear’s National Monument.
The PEW foundation, Conservation Access fund, Outdoor Alliance and BackCountry Horsemen to name a few are in support of this bill.
Whitlock said Sen. Hatch is interested in this bill because it has been driven by the locals of Emery County. The county officials approached Sen. Hatch and said this is what we want. The bill might be introduced as early as Tuesday or Wednesday.
U.S. Rep. John Curtis is supportive of the bill and will introduce it on the House side. The legislative staff said they are seeing robust support for the bill. They are hopeful the bill will be palatable to everyone.
Nicholas said, “We do anticipate opposition from SUWA, but no other groups have opposed the bill with concerns that can’t be remedied.”
The bill will be introduced and there will be a hearing. The bill will pass through committee and to the Senate floor where it will be debated. The process could take weeks or months, but Sen. Hatch hopes everything is done and the bill passes before the August recess. Representatives from Emery County will be given the opportunity to speak for the bill during the hearing process. Staffers said they are hoping for unanimous consent for the bill. On the House side the Utah delegation and Rep. Curtis will look to move the bill through. If needs be the bill can be packaged with other bills in order to pass the Emery County Land use bill.
Emery County Public Lands advisor Randy Johnson has told the Emery County Public Lands Council at anytime the Emery County land use bill changes on its road to being passed that Emery County will pull the bill.
Staffers were confident that Sen. Hatch will find a path forward for the bill.
When the bill passes an advisory council will be set-up to oversee the lands bill. This council would be comprised of members of the local community and others as determined by the Secretary of the Interior. Different members would need to meet different qualifications. The council would be balanced and include, conservation, recreation, grazing, motorized and non-motorized representation. Staffers said balance would be key to the advisory council.
The Jurassic National Monument has unique characteristics and deserves protection. The skeletons from the Cleveland/Lloyd Dinosaur quarry are on display worldwide. Protection for the WSAs will give permanent status to the land.
Staffers said everyone has had to make concessions to get the land use bill ready. “We’re excited for this bill. It will be a great model to have. We are very grateful to work with the leadership of Emery County. Emery County understands how to get the deal done. In the long term we are excited to continue to work with the stakeholders. There’s been broad support. We are appreciative,” said Nicholas.
In the future the tradeout lands with SITLA will be worked out. SITLA has made concessions too and there will be a solution to provide for the school children of Utah. “This historic bill balances the need for access and protection, providing a permanent solution to a long-term issue facing Emery County,” Senator Hatch said. “It’s the product of 23 years of effort and more than 3,000 meetings, responding to the needs of stakeholders across the ideological spectrum, from environmentalists to the grazing community and everyone in between. With one bill, we are protecting more acreage than all legislative efforts from the last eight years combined.”
“This bill is a win for everybody. It balances the needs of funding for Utah’s schools and conserving some of our nation’s most pristine land and resources,” Congressman Curtis said. “I am excited to champion this bill that helps add new resources and economic development opportunities to Emery County, and brings together conservation organizations, motorized and non-motorized recreation, sportsmen, local officials and governments, the State of Utah, the Congressional delegation, and many others. This is truly a local solution championed by the locals closest to the land.”
There are a number of benefits that Emery County anticipates with the passage of this legislation: Roads and designated motorized routes which have been evaluated and re-evaluated by BLM yet are continually challenged by litigation of extreme Non-Government Organizations will be clarified.
Creation of regulatory certainty. Industries dependent on natural resources can be insured that leases and permitted operations will remain viable.
Livestock operators will be held harmless and actually benefit from defined management guidelines.
Notoriety of National Monument status will be conveyed to Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry.
On-the-ground management, education, and development of facilities in the Goblin Valley/Temple Mountain area by Utah State Parks will preserve the wilderness/slot canyon resources that are in peril.
Exchange of properties will allow SITLA and BLM to manage lands more in step with their mandates.
Provide the impetus for Congress to act on Wild and Scenic River designations recommended by the 2008 BLM Resource Management Plan, and enhance marketing by Utah guides and outfitters.
Meet community needs by establishing R&PP Patents and making BLM island parcels available for disposal.
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