Vernal resource plans unveiled

Utahns have the opportunity to comment on the future of nearly 1.8 million acres of public land and 2.1 million acre of federal mineral estate in the state's northeast.

The Bureau of Land Management is posing four choices. The BLM Vernal District released a draft resource management plan and an accompanying environmental impact statement on the proposals for its holdings in Daggett, Duchesne and Uintah counties. It would combine the existing Book Cliffs and Diamond Mountain resource management plan into one plan.

Bill Stringer, manager of the BLM Vernal Field Office, said in a press release that the plan's main goal is to resolve issues that have emerged or are expected in the next 10 years. No issues are more pressing than questions involving oil and gas exploration and development, he said.

Nearly 75 percent of the region's land is under lease and numerous field development projects are pending, "involving hundreds of wells."

The BLM noted that the Energy Policy and Conservation Act Report of 2003 estimated that the Uintah-Piceance Basin has 150 million barrels of oil and 22 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, says the release. In 2003, natural gas production within the boundaries of the field office amounted to 24 billion cubic feet, enough to heat about 1.2 million homes, it adds.

Conservation is part of the plan, as it considers special protection for places like the White River, the Book Cliffs and Browns Park.

The four alternatives, according to a fact sheet distributed by the BLM, are:

• Alternative A, the BLM's preferred option, "provides development opportunities while protecting sensitive resources." It has the second-most acres available for oil and gas leasing of the four alternatives. It would provide three new Areas of Critical Environmental Concern and designate two new river segments on the White River for wild and scenic river protection.

About 6,000 acres will be open to off-road vehicles in cross-country use. More than 1.6 million acres would have limited designated trails amounting to 4,860 miles. Another 76,000 acres would be closed to ORV use.

• Alternative B would focus on providing development and use opportunities "while addressing required natural resource protection." It would have the largest areas open to oil and gas leasing, one new ACEC and no new wild and scenic river designations. Off-road vehicles drivers would have 5,400 acres in managed open areas, 1.16 million acres in limited designated trails (4,861 miles). About 60,000 acres would be closed to ORVs.