Leavitt says wilds 'extremists' twist facts

CEDAR CITY — Gov. Mike Leavitt went on the offensive Wednesday, telling a sympathetic audience that environmental extremists are manipulating the facts about Utah wilderness in an expensive public relations campaign.

"I am the subject of much of that, but I am not troubled by it," Leavitt told more than 280 people attending the 16th annual Utah Rural Summit held at Southern Utah University. "There is power in the moderate position; strength in dealing with the facts."

Attending the three-day conference are elected officials, federal land use managers, and representatives from public and private companies that work directly with such public issues around the state.

"I'm not optimistic that the extreme environmental community is reaching for a solution on wilderness," said Leavitt. "I think they're establishing their brand. If I thought there was serious interest from the extreme environmental groups to settle wilderness issues, I'd be there."

Leavitt reviewed Utah's history surrounding the designation of wilderness and public roads, pointing out the issue has polarized some groups that actually have much in common.

"There are some who have bought into this misperception that we're trying to take wilderness out of the area. I'm speaking specifically about the outdoor retailers. I am persuaded we can build an economic alliance with them," said Leavitt, who has met three times with the organization that threatened to pull its convention from the state because of the governor cutting a deal with the Bush administration that removes wilderness protection from lands considered potential wilderness.

"These are people who believe in the qualities of wilderness, but they're not extremists. They want a solution."

That solution, said Leavitt, is in the form of the memo of understanding he signed in April with Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton. The memo lays out the process for Utah to identify land that qualifies as wilderness, he said. It does not give Utah or the Bureau of Land Management the authority to set aside or manage any land as if it were wilderness.

"Some said it (the agreement) was decided in secret," said Leavitt. "It's just a memo of understanding to create a process to settle some of these disputes. The essence of the agreement is that Congress is the only one able to designate wilderness. Those who suggest otherwise do so by design to affect politics, not policy."