With two dissenting votes, the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce's board of governors has adopted a resolution favoring the Utah congressional delegation's proposal for 1.9 million acres of wilderness on U.S. Bureau of Land Management lands in the Beehive State.
Arlen Crouch, board chairman, said the resolution was previously approved by the board's Executive Committee.According to the resolution supporting 1.9 million acres of wilderness, the proposed legislation is the result of years of painstaking acreage inventories, public hearings and emotional debates.
"It represents a workable balance between the need to preserve reasonable amounts of Utah's natural resources in a pristine, wilderness condition and the equally important need to permit multiple use of land for agriculture, mining, tourism, oil and gas development and other prudent activities that create jobs, stimulate the economy and enable the general citizenry to benefit from public lands," the resolution said.
The resolution said the chamber believes the legislation represents the best opportunity in recent years to resolve the complex wilderness issues and urges Utah's congressional delegation to remain united in getting the bill passed.
Rep. Enid Waldholtz, R-Utah, who attended the meeting to give the board an update on congressional activities, said she will propose an amendment to the bill once it reaches the House for debate that would add 360,000 acres of wilderness for a total of 2.2 million acres.
She said the additional acreage would allow for better management of wilderness areas. Asked if her proposal would split the Republican members in Congress, Wald-holtz said if her amendment is defeated she will support the 1.9 million-acre proposal.
Before a vote was taken on the resolution, board members heard from Ted Stewart, executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, and George Nickas, of the Utah Wilderness Association, a group advocating 3 million acres of wilderness on BLM land.
Stewart said the congressional delegation and Gov. Mike Leavitt heard comments from more than 500 people at several public hearings. After studying all of the information, they decided on 1.9 million acres.
Nickas said his organization's proposal for 3 million acres of wilderness was considered a sellout by several organizations that want 5.7 million acres of wilderness in Utah. He said if the lower acreage is approved, Utah will miss an op-por-tunity to protect "wild and beautiful areas."
Nickas said many provisions included in the bill will hamper land managers and will allow dams to be built and pipelines to be installed on pristine land.
In other action, the board approved resolutions that favor President Clinton's renewal of "most favored nation" trading status with the People's Republic of China and voiced support for Congress' attempt to balance the federal budget by 2002.