ST. GEORGE — Sen. Bob Bennett and Rep. Jim Matheson on Wednesday presented draft legislation that would create a comprehensive plan for managing public lands in Washington County and preserve more than 219,000 acres of southern Utah land in and near Zion National Park as wilderness.

"This provides for intelligent growth and intelligent conservation," said Bennett, R-Utah, during a news conference at Pioneer Park, in the foothills of the red cliffs above St. George. "It wasn't easy, it was a lot of hard work, but the only way we're going to make progress on these issues is to have a comprehensive effort with all the stakeholders on public land use."

Bennett said he would introduce The Washington County Growth & Conservation Act of 2006 in the U.S. Senate Energy Committee by late April or early May. Matheson, D-Utah, will co-sponsor the bill in the U.S. House.

"These are the types of decisions that I look forward to pursuing," Matheson said. "Ultimately, the folks in Washington County have got to feel good about what we're doing."

Highlights of the proposal include selling around 25,000 acres of public land and using 15 percent of the proceeds for public education, water projects and fire and flood protection. The other 85 percent of the money would be earmarked to preserve historic rangeland and vital watersheds, buy more land to protect endangered species, and improve conservation efforts on numerous projects throughout the county.

The proposal would designate 219,299 acres as wilderness , including 123,743 acres of National Park Service land within Zion National Park, plus 92,914 acres of Bureau of Land Management Land and 2,642 acres of Forest Service Land. The additions would mean nearly 280,000 acres in Washington County would be managed under the National Wilderness Preservation System.

For the first time ever in Utah, 170 miles of the Virgin River within Zion National Park would receive protection under the Wild and Scenic River Act. The proposed legislation also would preserve 61,000 acres of desert-tortoise habitat to the north of St. George, as the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area.

A system of trails for off-highway vehicles would be identified and managed for responsible use. Utility, transportation and water corridors, including the Lake Powell pipeline, would also be designated.

Washington County Commissioner Alan Gardner said the legislation is the result of 20 months of labor by a diverse group of people interested in the welfare of southern Utah's future. The members of the Washington County Land Use Planning Process and Working Group, which first was assembled under former Utah Gov. Olene Walker's administration, attended dozens of meetings and visited sites now included in the draft legislation.