By Julie Johansen
The Emery County Public Lands Council met in their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, May 7, in the County Administration Building in Castle Dale. With fewer than normal agencies in attendance, the meeting was brief.
Kyle Beagley of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that the Price Field Office Manager and the District Manager in the Vernal office are both vacant, as well as three park rangers. He said that the comment period for the San Rafael Swell Travel Management Plan will begin about the first of June and last for 45 days ending in mid-July. Beagley also announced the public open house meetings about the Skyline Mine expansion, May 7 in Huntington and May 8 in Mt. Pleasant.
He continued by stating that they are still working on the Little Cedar Mountain Bike Trail. Other information from the BLM included the interpretative signs at Jurassic National Monument, which are very informational. There will be new buildings built at the monument in 2025.
Marc Stilson, State Water Engineer, then updated the council about the Cleveland Reservoir renovation. This will begin soon and is expected to take a couple of years. Electric Lake and Joes Valley Reservoirs are also needing repair as they were built before there were internal core regulations. Jay Mark Humphrey also spoke about all the reservoirs being full this year. They expected to spill and the San Rafael River is expected to be very full.
Dal Gray, Department of Oil Gas and Mining, reported that the Carbon and Emery Coal Collaborative Meeting had happened and that the A1 Lithium mine is Green River now has a rig in place, checking production. He also added that Buzzard Bench has been sold to Urban Gas.
Justin Hart with the Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) reported that the Gill netting at Milisite showed that Chubs have been placed in the reservoir, making the ecosystem of fish hard, if not impossible, to manage.
Forest Ranger Darren Olsen reported that the Littles Creek Bike Trail is now ready to open. The majority of gates are still closed, except for wildlife gates on Horn Mountain. Sage grouse numbers are up and range conditions seem normal, normal season and normal numbers for permittees. Firewood permits will open on June 1. Seasonal workers are starting to work.
