ST. GEORGE — Copies of a resolution opposing the Washington County Growth and Conservation Act of 2006 are in the mail today, earmarked for various mayors and other elected officials throughout the county. The Springdale Town Council passed the resolution last week.

"Our concerns with the bill may be very different than other cities, but we think some of them may be the same," said Springdale Mayor Pat Cluff, who took office six months ago after serving on the Town Council for four years. "We feel like our questions about the bill haven't been answered to our satisfaction, and we have serious concerns."

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, and Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, introduced the proposed legislation last month in Congress. Highlights of the bill include setting aside wilderness and conservation areas, selling off 24,300 acres of public land, identifying utility and transportation corridors that include the Lake Powell Pipeline project, and protecting miles of the Virgin River under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

The bill will likely be heard in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in early September, said Washington County Commissioner Alan Gardner.

"I'm not surprised that Springdale came out against the bill," said Gardner, who attended the Town Council meeting several weeks ago to present the legislation and answer questions. "Some of the people speaking out against it are Realtors developing land out there. If we're going to say nobody else can move in here, then that has to mean their kids, too."

A representative from the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance also attended the same meeting to make a presentation, Cluff said.

"They were asked to come tell us the good, the bad and the ugly of this bill," she said. "We just felt like we didn't know enough about it."

Scott Groene with SUWA said Monday that Springdale's resolution identifies the same concerns felt by many people over the public-lands bill.

"I think this resolution is a strong indication of the problems there are with this legislation," said Groene. "This opposition you see growing in Washington County is because the bill is poorly thought out. It's unfortunate that Bennett and Matheson introduced this legislation before doing their homework."

One Springdale Town Council member, Louise Excell, spoke last week at a rally held by Citizens for Dixie's Future, which opposes the bill in its current form.

The Springdale resolution states the Town Council has "many objections to the proposed legislation," including concerns over future growth projections, the location of transportation corridors, disposal of public lands, failure to protect sensitive lands in other sections of the county and a lack of public input or consultation with local governments.

"I just don't see what the hurry is," said Cluff. "There's no question we need to do something like this, and there are some excellent ideas in the bill. But we'd like to see more mapping, more detail, and we'd like more public involvement."

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