By Julie Johansen
Chairman Rod Player opened Emery County Public Lands Meeting on Tuesday by announcing three public meetings that are upcoming. The first is an annual training and ethics meeting for members of the committee in the Swell Room on Jan. 15 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The second meeting will be on Wednesday, Jan. 22, also in the Swell Conference Room of the Emery County Administration Building, to have a discussion on making the Old Spanish Trail come alive. The purpose of the meeting is to announce plans and discuss new ideas.
On Jan. 15 at noon, there will be a discussion on Airbnb experiences. This will be sponsored by the Emery County Travel Bureau and Emery County Business Chamber. The meeting will be held at Castle Dale City Hall and attendees need to RSVP by calling (435) 749-9025. That evening, another discussion will take place at the Emery County Administration Building at 7 p.m.
Following these announcements, Player called for nominations for the chairman and vice chairman of the council for the next two years. Committee member JR Nelson made a motion to suspend the rules and reassign Player as chair and Edward Geary as vice chair. The motion passed unanimously. Kim McFarlane was reinstalled as a committee member and in two weeks, the other empty position will be filled by the county commissioners. They have received four applications for the position and need time to interview and make the selection.
Emery County Commissioner Kent Wilson then reported on his attendance at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Travel Management Evaluation meeting. He reported his faith in the process to establish routes on the San Rafael Desert. He also read a text from Congressman John Curtis’ office that stated that they are working hard to follow the language in the Emery County Land Bill, not the language of the manuals.
Chris Conrad from the BLM office then explained the evaluation process of determining routes on the desert. They welcome the input of the cooperating agencies, of which Emery County is one. They are currently in the EA (evaluation assessment) stage of the process for the routes in the Cedar Mountain area. Once this is done, the evaluation then goes to the state and then on to Washington D.C.
When asked about the seven representatives for the advisory board designated in the bill, Conrad responded that the final decision is up to those in Washington D.C.
Mark Stilson, Utah State Water Engineer, reported no new water applications but drew attention to upcoming legislation. HB 105 strengthens penalties for interfering with water functions and SB 26 is a water banking bill. This bill is designed to allow optimal use of water and easier access to needed water.
Brian Torgersen, Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), reported that they are working closely with the BLM and that the travel management process is going well. He reported that the sale of the 40 acres north of Castle Dale was successful and had active bidding. Stilson also said that the sale of 120 acres has been negotiated with Wolverine Fuel to be used for staging with the Trail Mountain Mine.
Daren Olsen, U.S. Forest Service, spoke of a busy time right now for their office. The Forest Service is conducting a range analysis of three sheep allotments in the south Skyline and Potter’s Pond areas. He would like to do some presentations about the fuel projects, including timber sales, chemical treatments and controlled burns for the Lan Sue Committee, and will be making arrangements with Emery County Public Lands Administrator Ray Petersen to schedule these.
Members of the land council questioned Olsen about the ownership of the Joe’s Valley Dam. He stated that they are in favor of Department of Reclamation deeding 31 acres to the Emery County Water Conservancy District but have questions about the additional 2,300 acres. They currently have a memorandum of understanding with the water district for these additional acres. Olsen said that they need to see things written down and want to see Joe’s Valley remain the same for public use.
