By Julie Johansen
Rod Player, chairman of the Emery County Public Lands Council, called Tuesday’s meeting to order. Following a prayer and pledge of allegiance, Player gave a brief history of the Manti-La Sal National Forest. He related that the railroad brought in transient herds of sheep, unloading them at Solider Summit, which overgrazed the land and brought torrent flooding when the storms came, especially on the Sanpete side of the mountain. At that time (1903) people petitioned the government for help and President Roosevelt responded with help saying that if the citizens would take good care of the natural resources, help would come; and it did. This being the forerunner of resource management plans.
Val Payne has been commissioned by the county to help with the state mandated resource management plan. He reported that Emery County has had a plan in place for about 30 years. The state legislature has now identified some areas that have not been adequately addressed in the Emery County plan; i.e. riparian areas, predator control, river terracing and wildlife. Payne, who has worked on the council for years, reported that the Emery plan has served the needs of the agencies for a long time, so they will keep the present plan and will insist on keeping it, but amend it to meet state requirements. He stressed that Emery County is well ahead of the rest of the state.
Various agencies then reported to the council.
The Bureau of Land Management field manager discussed the wild burro gather in the Sinbad area. There is an appeal open until March 11, but after this appeal hopefully they can begin to gather. He was excited to announce a working agreement between the BLM and SITLA to manage the wild horses and burrows on public lands. He also desires that the county, BLM and state parks can work together on a buffet of recreational activities and how to address them. The BLM has 180 allotments in this area and have good working relationships with permittees. He said all allotments are in good shape for grazing and there should be no animal unit cuts.
The Division of Oil, Gas and Mining reported again that the Consul Mine has been purchased by Bronco and is awaiting the transfer of the permit to begin mining there. When asked about the mine leasing moratorium, he said that any present lease is okay and anything that was in process would be grandfathered in and permitted. He addressed the closing of Deer Creek Mine and the problems it is having with drainage of the water out of the mine. The amount of iron in the water is a concern and needs to be drained through Deer Creek and not Rilda Canyon. He also discussed the drainage of water from Skyline into Electric Lake and Crandall Canyon drainage. They are watching very carefully the amount of iron in all these drainages.
A Division of Wildlife Resources representative reported on more deer transplants from urban Utah to Joe’s Valley. A total of 115 deer have been moved. He also noted that mussels are very evident in lower levels of Lake Powell. Efforts have been revamped in order to clean up the area and prevent the spread to other Utah waters.
A School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration representative stated that the state is in a holding pattern, waiting to see what happens with the Public Lands Initiative. They prefer grass root management and oppose any presidential monuments. He also discussed sage grouse protection on state lands. Sage Grouse in Emery County are located above the town of Emery.
A Forest Service representative then spoke about mineral extraction in the forest. There are presently 11 drill sites on the forest, seven at Skyline and four with Sufco. With regards to fuel suppression, he said they are working closely with permittees to present treatment in this area. As for trails, many of them are being upgraded to 60 inches wide to make it possible for larger UTVs to travel on them. There are no new trails only modifications of present ones. No forest service road gates are closed at this time.
The State Park Ranger from Goblin Valley reported that visitor numbers are rapidly increasing every day and that a new park ranger should be hired soon. He talked about KSL doing a presentation on Goblin Valley. Also, the TV show “The Place” will be doing a special on disc golf in Green River. Huntington Lake campground opened March 1 and Millsite Campground will be open March 15.
All legislative representatives discussed the possibility of a monument creation in Utah before the end of the president’s term. They also discussed the importance of waiting until the new administration to appoint a new Supreme Court justice.
Council member Sherrel Ward gave the area water report, saying that the average for the watershed is 88% of normal and reservoir storage is at 39% of capacity.