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Thread: proposal for cedar breaks to become a nat'l park?

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    proposal for cedar breaks to become a nat'l park?

    Park designation on table
    BY JENNIFER WEAVER
    The Spectrum
    September 12, 2009

    CEDAR CITY - Public comments about the Iron County Commission's proposal to Congress to change the designation of Cedar Breaks National Monument to national park status will be accepted Monday.

    A public hearing during the commission's meeting at 1:30 p.m. will allow recommendations be given to help the elected officials determine whether the re-designation is in the best interest of the county. Opinions expressed will also be considered in determining public access and how much of the Ashdown Gorge Wilderness Area and additional property extending west from the gorge to state Route 14 to include in the status change.

    "The designation of a national park raises the level of interest for tourists so the greatest benefit of having national park status over monument status is tourism," said Iron County Administrator Reed Erickson.

    The greatest impact directly affecting the public is the elimination of hunting in the wilderness area with the re-designation.

    "Ashdown Gorge Wilderness would just be encompassed in the park," Erickson said.

    Public access is still being negotiated with property owners of the gorge. Setting boundaries is still open for further evaluation though the commission has outlined limits in its proposal.

    "We have proposed boundaries but we want to hear from the public where they think the boundaries ought to be," Erickson said. "The access issue would try to be solved through this public hearing process so we could provide access because, as it stands, unless the public is granted permission from property owners they are not allowed to trespass and that would still be the case with designated park status."

    Richard Bauer is among the private property owners. He is not against the national park designation but is not in favor of public access to his family's property, he said.

    "That trail comes off Cedar Breaks right through our property," Bauer said. "We're in the process of trying to work something out to get around that access situation, but yes, people would still have to get our permission. People shouldn't go through there if they haven't got permission."

    Southern Utah University is also a gorge property owner and is anxious for the park designation, said SUU Vice President for Regional Services, Wes Curtis.

    "As an educational institution that has a lot of focus on its unique outdoor setting, we probably look at it differently than other property owners," Curtis said. "We see this as great opportunity for the school and the students and for a lot of our programs.

    "We already have a degree in outdoor recreation and this (re-designation) just provides us an opportunity to connect to students through our property through direct, on-the-ground training," he added. "With the national park we see a big opportunity with internships and also a chance to really help out students involved in the outdoor recreation and natural resources programs to have on-the-ground experiences."

    The commission will also have a public hearing on issuing an industrial revenue bond not to exceed $6 million to Holt Dairy in Newcastle. The dairy farm qualified under a program for solid waste to bond with the county on special limited obligations that will not constitute an indebtedness of the county and requires the dairy to pay all or a portion of the costs of acquiring, constructing and equipping certain solid waste components of the facility.

    Other agenda items for Monday's meeting include, but are not limited to:

    n Board of Equalization request to review, discuss and submit for approval one property tax exemption requested by Dixie and Anne Leavitt Foundation on property at 755 W. 200 South.

    n Resolution opposing new taxes on state or local governments, employers or household through federal climate revenues collection.

    n Approval of cooperative agreement providing for consolidated dispatch service in Iron County.

    n Discussion of county roads on Utah Schools and Institutional Trusts Lands Administration property.

    n Prairie dog mitigation take distribution.

    n Iron County annual audit report.

    n Conservation easement for Utah prairie dog mitigation.

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