Most Escalante and Boulder residents attending recent hearings support the concept of a national eco-region in the Escalante Canyons.
The meetings, moderated by Bureau of Land Management personnel, were not without opposition, however. Principal objections centered on opposition to additional government control of the lands and a desire for the area to remain as it is without change.A new plan for managing federal public lands in the Escalante River area has been advanced through efforts of county commissioners, who serve on a governor's task force; the BLM; National Park Service; and Forest Service. The plan is called "Canyons of the Escalante, National Eco-Region Concept."
Gov. Mike Leavitt appointed Garfield County Commissioners Tom Hatch and Louise Liston to the task force.
The proposal is somewhat of a compromise because environmentalists have proposed the area be designated total wilderness.
"My main objective is to preserve traditional use of the land and of the customs and culture of these small rural communities and to ensure a stable economy for communities impacted by public lands management," Liston said.
The proposal is designed to preserve natural settings and beauty while providing real and sustained economic benefit to a more diversified economy, she added.
Four levels of management have been proposed, including wild lands, natural lands, multiple-use lands and enterprise lands.
Wild lands would be wilderness with basic inaccessibility. Mechanized transportation would not be permitted in the area.
Natural lands are defined as areas showing signs of use such as roads, drill sites, mining, fences, cabins, grazing and timber. These would be allowed to continue under presently permitted use.
New roads could not be developed or man-made structures erected. The only timber that could be cut would be to maintain the ecosystem. Only surface mining that would be concealed from the horizon would be allowed.
Under multiple use, such activities as grazing, timber cutting and mining would be allowed. The government wouldn't rescind any present rights, but there would be only limited expansion.
The final category of "enterprise lands" would allow development of lands that would help the economy. School sections, owned by the state, would be traded for public lands along U-12 that could be developed with motels, restaurants or other facilities.
About 45 people attended the public meeting in Escalante, voting unanimously in favor of the project. In the meeting at Boulder, 19 favored the concept and 13 were opposed.
Concern was voiced about the proposal of trading state school sections in the area for property adjacent to the highway.