SALT LAKE CITY (July 31, 2006) -- Newly available transcripts from a June public hearing on the Washington County Growth and Conservation Act of 2006 show widespread public disapproval of the proposed bill, which was subsequently introduced by Senator Robert Bennett and Representative Jim Matheson. The Utah Wilderness Coalition (UWC) hosted the public hearing June 29th at Westminster College in Salt Lake City. The entire transcript is now available at http://www.zionmojavewilderness.org/bennett/index.html.

Oral comments were received by 33 individuals from across the state, including representatives of outdoor industry, the paleontological community, the Utah Native Plant Society, the Utah Rivers Council, and other concerned individuals. The proceedings were recorded and transcribed by stenographer Ariel Mumma of Tempest Reporting, Inc., in Salt Lake City.

Among the oral comments in the transcript, Lin Alder, a developer from Washington County, said, "This bill does not reflect a shared dream of our future. To identify that dream we need to gather together as a community and ask ourselves hard questions about open space, traffic, recreation, pollution, water quality, affordable housing, and more. Once we have a better handle on this dream, then we can go about introducing legislation to make it happen. But to introduce this bill before the community has spoken is like selling the goose without asking the farmer for permission.”

In early June, a statewide poll showed strong support for holding public hearings throughout Utah on legislation affecting federal public land in Washington County, offered by Sen. Bennett and Rep. Matheson. Eighty-nine percent of registered voters polled said public hearings should be held in Utah before the legislation is voted on in Washington, D.C., including more than 80% of voters in every region of the state. Furthermore, members of the Utah State Legislature, the Democratic Caucus of the Salt Lake County Council, the Salt Lake City Council, and Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson all wrote letters respectfully requesting public hearings for the Wasatch Front.

Although Sen. Bennett and Rep. Matheson, in a letter to the UWC on June 29th, stated they were looking forward “to reviewing the transcript of the meeting,”they moved forward without reviewing the comments and officially introduced the legislation in Congress.

“This is a bill that needs to be dramatically changed if it going to effectively balance growth and conservation,” said Scott Groene of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. “A broad array of residents throughout the state has asked for a slower, more thoughtful approach to this important legislation, and the Utah Wilderness Coalition hopes Sen. Bennett and Rep. Matheson will remain open to making significant improvements to the bill. We certainly continue to be willing to sit down with them to make that happen.”

Other representative quotes from the June 29th pubic hearing:

“I view our public lands as an asset to the outdoor industry, an industry that contributes greatly to Utah’s economy. …We ask those involved to slow down, make sure the legislation really benefits our state in a positive and long-lasting way, hold public hearings in Utah to allow concerned citizens to speak in the most important proposal before any legislation is introduced.”
- Peter Metcalf, President and CEO, Black Diamond Outfitters; Outdoor Industry Association

“The federal government, under the National Historic Preservation Act, has set up a process to identify significant sites and to recognize those sites, and you know, these important sites should never be sacrificed…on the altar of economic development or political expediency….[Land] should never become currency.”
- Jerry Spangler, Executive Director, Colorado Plateau Archeological Alliance

“This could easily become an ongoing, self-perpetuating vicious cycle of destroying public lands to meet the demand of growth, and simultaneously funds projects which create the incentives for more growth, which once again, requires more land.”
- Lawrence McClung, Sandy, Utah

“Washington County is the rainforest of Utah…We would just like to see that rare plants are taken into account in Washington County.”
- Anthony J. Frates, Conservation Chair, Utah Native Plant Society

“ I'm concerned because of the unclarity that we have for seeing how this fits into an overall picture for the development of southern Utah. I think that the legislative horse is ahead of the planning cart. …. We don't have an overall picture. We can't weave a tapestry if you don't [know] what the picture looks like that you're trying to weave, and that's what's happening here. We don’t know how this fits in…. So in my opinion, this legislation is premature”
- Thomas Yuill, Mapleton, Utah

“And our main concern is we have a lot of burial sites in those areas, and we also have archeological sites, and we also have cultural sites, plants, animals, the birds, you know, things like that. That's what we have in that area where they're going to propose this bill. And it will make a significant impact for us, and we'd like to be involved in what they take out of there.”
- Glenn Rogers, Chairman, Shivwits Band of the Paiute Tribe.