Leavitt, Walker oppose drilling for gas on White River corridor

On his final day as governor, Mike Leavitt fired a parting shot at the Bureau of Land Management and its proposal to drill for gas in the White River area, a popular river-rafting and wilderness hiking area in the Uinta Basin.

And Olene Walker, who was sworn in as governor on Wednesday, joined Leavitt in opposition to the plans.

In a letter to BLM state director Sally Wisely, Leavitt and Walker strongly urged the BLM to back off on gas drilling within the White River corridor until a final management plan for the area is completed.

Resource Development Groups is seeking to drill 423 wells in the Uinta Basin covering about 79,900 acres of mostly federal land. But 15 of the proposed wells would overlap the recreational corridor spanning the White River.

"This corridor contains outstanding opportunities for river recreation, hiking and the like," stated the Nov. 4 letter signed by Leavitt and Walker.

The BLM had requested the state's comments on the drilling proposal.

"We have not made a decision," said BLM spokesman Don Banks. "We are still reviewing comments we have and we certainly appreciate the former governor's comments on it."

Leavitt, who assumes his duty today as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, had pledged to the recreational community that he would promote and protect Utah's recreational gems.

State officials hope the opposition letter will appease the Outdoor Industry Association, which has repeatedly threatened to move its twice-yearly trade show, the state's largest, to another state. The OIA has been unhappy with what they see as Leavitt's lack of commitment to environmental protection.

The White River corridor includes BLM lands deemed worthy of wilderness protection by the Clinton administration, said Wes Curtis, state planning coordinator. But a subsequent agreement between Leavitt and Interior Secretary Gale Norton lifted wilderness protections for 6 million acres identified in the Clinton inventory but left intact protections on about 3 million acres identified in earlier studies.

It was that deal that prompted outrage by the OIA, which in May threatened to move its trade shows — and the $24 million a year that pours into Utah through trade show attendees — to another state. At the summer Outdoor Retailer show in August, retailers met with Leavitt and the OIA board agreed to renew its contract for another year.