Moab BLM Releases Redrock Country Management Plan

Moab BLM Releases Redrock Country Management Plan



Aug. 2007  - On Friday, the Moab office 
of the Bureau of Land Management, BLM, released its draft plan for how 
millions of acres of the redrock country will be managed. The other five 
BLM planning districts throughout Utah will release their planning 
documents over the next few months. 
The Resource Management Plans will define which areas should be protected 
as wilderness, and which areas should be used for oil and gas exploration 
and off-road vehicle use. 
The current land use plan was prepared for the Moab Field Office in 1985. 
"Since then," the BLM Moab office says, "there have been considerable 
changes within the area." 
"There has been tremendous growth in recreation activities such as 
mountain biking and off-highway vehicle use. There has been heightened 
public awareness regarding conflicts between recreational activities and 
oil and gas development. Also, new data is available for bighorn sheep, 
pronghorn, and Mexican spotted owls," the field office says. 
An example of the conflict over oil and gas development is currently 
happening in the BLM’s Vernal field office. 
The Vernal office has received more that 50,000 public comments in 
opposition to a plan to lease public lands and drill 60 natural gas wells 
on federal and state lands just south of Utah’s White River. 
Outfitters and conservationists are asking BLM for a comprehensive 
analysis of the latest development proposal submitted by Denver-based 
Enduring Resources, LLC, one of several submitted by Enduring over the 
past few years to develop the White River, including analysis of the 
potential cumulative impacts to the natural quiet and beauty of this 
remote area. 
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council, 
and The Wilderness Society submitted detailed comments to the BLM on the 
proposal to develop this largely pristine area. A coalition of local river 
outfitters, the Outdoor Industry Association, and river-based conservation 
groups also submitted comments opposing the project as drafted. The state 
of Utah also commented on the project’s potential impacts to air quality. 
"BLM can’t allow natural gas development to trump all other resources on 
public lands but that is exactly what’s happening here," said Stephen 
Bloch, staff attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. "This 
project may single handedly change the face of the White River for 
generations and leave a legacy of marred landscapes, polluted waters, and 
industrial noise." 
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, SUWA, says the BLM Moab field 
office planning document "represents the culmination of hundreds of 
thousands of hours of work by career professionals at the BLM," but the 
public will have just 90 days to submit its comments. 
SUWA is asking the Utah Bureau of Land Management for an extension to the 
public comment period and hopes to engender a groundswell of public 
opinion to support such an extension. 
While the BLM says on its website that it encourages the public to get 
involved in revision the management plan, SUWA says the agency "seems to 
be doing everything in its power to stifle public comment by limiting 
citizens’ ability to access the plan.: 
"When a member of SUWA’s staff asked to have a copy mailed to her, she was 
given the name of the publisher and told to pay $80 to have it printed," 
SUWA said. 
The BLM responds that it will be directing people to view the draft 
document online. CD copies will be available at the Moab BLM office. 

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