SALT LAKE CITY, March 28, 2006 -- After reviewing the details of Senator Bennett’s proposed legislation for Washington County unveiled for the first time last week, conservation groups in the Utah Wilderness Coalition expressed dismay that the draft bill would make only minimal conservation gains while furthering sprawl and development in the fifth fastest growing county in the nation. The “Washington County Growth and Conservation Act of 2006” proposes wilderness protection for less than 30% of the deserving lands in the region, while requiring a massive sell-off of federal public lands, as well as authorizing numerous new water development projects, new roads, and utility corridors.
“We had hoped for a more balanced proposal that would protect the Zion-Mojave’s outstanding wild lands and wildlife while also allowing for smart growth and sustainable land use around St. George,” said Suzanne Jones, Regional Director of The Wilderness Society. “Unfortunately, as written, this draft legislation fails on all scores.”
There are roughly 300,000 acres of wilderness-quality lands in Washington County that have been long proposed for protection by citizens including such wild and rugged places as Dry Creek near Zion National Park, and the ecologically diverse Beaver Dam Wash near the Mojave desert. Senator Bennett’s proposal, however, leaves over 70% of these wilderness-quality lands on the chopping block; the bill not only eliminates protections now in place for wilderness study areas, but leaves over 200,000 acres of deserving wild lands unprotected. While conservation groups support Senator Bennett’s proposal to protect wilderness and wild and scenic rivers within Zion National Park, these lands and water already enjoy considerable protection, while unprotected BLM lands are at significantly greater risk.
“Washington County is one of the most spectacular and biologically diverse landscapes in the West,” said Scott Groene, Executive Director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. “This ‘growth bill’ proposed by the county commissioners would irrevocably alter southwest Utah, while excluding the public from participating in important decisions about the future of Washington County. It would be a great mistake to push these half-baked ideas through Congress given the values at stake. This legislation needs involvement by all citizens and significant work.”
Through this legislation, local county commissioners propose an immense and unprecedented sell-off of public lands, authorizing 25,000 acres (or 40 square miles) of BLM land to be sold off to developers. Considering that already 20 square miles of public land has been sold since 1999, this proposal could increase the sprawling St. George metropolitan area from 65 square miles to 105 square miles by 2009—at the expense of community open space and existing wild lands. In addition, the proceeds from this liquidation of public lands would be used to finance, among other things, sprawl-inducing activities like new pipelines and other water development projects.
“As written, this bill not only shortchanges wilderness protection but also puts a real estate sign out on prized open spaces around St. George,” said Lawson LeGate, Senior Southwest Regional Representative of the Sierra Club. “This proposed giveaway of such a massive amount of precious public lands, and without prior identification in a public planning process, is of deep concern to us.”
Conservation groups also sharply disagreed with statements suggesting a high-level of public involvement in Bennett’s proposal. Although a few conservation representatives were initially invited to participate in the then-governor Olene Walker’s series of Washington County meetings two years ago, the process was abruptly ended in December 2004, and there has been no planning or negotiations process since then. Despite repeated requests, Senator Bennett’s unveiling of his draft bill last week was the first conservationists have seen of the proposal.
“Washington County officials are reportedly interested in engaging in a planning process after the proposed bill has been introduced,” stated LeGate. “But that’s like building your dream house before you draft the blueprint. There should be public hearings across the State so that citizens have a chance to speak on the county commissioners’ proposal.”
Representatives from The Wilderness Society, Sierra Club, and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance look forward to meeting with Senator Bennett next week to discuss his interest in crafting a proposal that conservation groups could support.
“As in the recent Cedar Mountains Wilderness agreement, there is a real opportunity here to design a balanced proposal for the Zion-Mojave regional that will benefit all Utahans,” added Jones. “But it will take a commitment from Senator Bennett to proceed cautiously in an inclusive process with real input from the public and meaningful participation of all interests.”
