Escalante's mayor and City Council say they haven't had enough information to endorse the creation of a nearby national park, although Garfield County commissioners have indicated they support the proposal advanced by Rep. Wayne Owens, D-Utah.

Owens believes the Escalante National Park could be a reality within a year.Escalante Mayor Clem H. Griffin and four council members don't deny that they might support a national park in lieu of more wilderness designation, but they want to study further facts related to the proposed park. It would be mostly in Garfield County, partly extending into Kane County.

"We felt the need to set the record straight," the mayor and four council members said in an open letter to the Garfield County Commission, following a story that appeared in a local newspaper indicating they officially support the proposal.

Council members who signed the letter with the mayor are Gerald Barney, Marilyn Jackson, Sheldon Steed and Robert Munson.

"We are not saying that we are opposed to a park, just that we would have liked to have been asked before someone spoke in our behalf," the letter stated. "The topic has not been discussed pro or con by our council, nor have we given Commissioner (Tom) Hatch authority to speak for us."

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The mayor and council were adamant that they "want no more wilderness," however, a position they said they have unanimously taken. County commissioners indicate they would support the park as a compromise to more wilderness designation, which they also oppose.

"There is merit in looking at all alternatives to wilderness," Escalante officials declared. "We feel that any compromise should include information from all influenced parties, including the citizens of Escalante, since they have been nominated as an endangered community."

Griffin and the council said they would like to see proposed acres and plans for the park.

"We as a council feel that all land-use interests must be addressed and that plans . . . should at least be discussed or examined before being endorsed. But until questions are answered and the proposal and concerns reviewed, we feel it is premature to assume the project has our support and endorsement."

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