Outdoors group snubs southern Utah bill

ST. GEORGE — The Washington County Growth and Conservation Act of 2006 got a thumbs down from the Outdoor Industry Association this week.

"Our public policy committee voted unanimously last week that we can't support the bill in its current form," said Amy Roberts, the association's director of government affairs. "Our main concern is the sell off of public lands and what we see as an unbalanced approach to wilderness."

Washington County Commissioner Alan Gardner is in Washington, D.C., this week to testify before Congress about the bill, which is generating discussion around the nation.

"If this bill becomes law, wilderness will lose absolutely no land," Gardner said. "There is nothing on the table for sale on the west side of the county. If it doesn't become law, we will lose the National Conservation Area, the off-road vehicle trail and protection for plants and so forth."

The proposed legislation is slated to come before the House Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health on Thursday. Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, and Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, are sponsors of the bill.

The bill would designate wilderness areas in the county, identify a portion of the Virgin River as a Wild and Scenic River, protect endangered species, set aside transportation and utility corridors, establish hiking, horseback and off-road vehicle trails, and sell off up to 25,000 acres of public land to private developers.

Proceeds from the land sales would go to the county, the Bureau of Land Management, state trust lands and the Washington County Water Conservancy District. The BLM already has identified 4,300 acres of land it wants to sell. The rest will be identified through a local planning process called "Vision Dixie."

Gardner said if any public lands were identified for sale, they would first be subject to local planning and zoning laws.

"The balance of the land will be identified by the Vision Dixie planning process," he said, noting the Washington County Commission recently passed a resolution that commits the county to participate in Vision Dixie.

The Springdale Town Council recently voted by resolution to oppose the bill, although the city councils of LaVerkin and Santa Clara voted in support of the legislation. The St. George City Council has yet to vote on the issue.

"A lot of research shows that to get people outside, there have to be close-to-home recreÏational opportunities," said Roberts. "By selling off public lands, those opportunities would be decreased."

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