Wilderness advocates seeking comments

Wilderness advocates are seeking comments from the public about a proposal pending in Congress that would affect the future of public lands in Washington County.

The Utah Wilderness Coalition will hold a comment session Thursday, 7-9 p.m., in the Gore Auditorium of Westminster College, 1840 S. 1300 East in Salt Lake City.

The subject is a draft proposal, "Washington County Growth and Conservation Act," sponsored by Utah members of Congress Sen. Bob Bennett, a Republican, and Rep. Scott Matheson, a Democrat. Advocates say the bill, if passed, "would forever change the landscape of southwestern Utah by selling off or disposing of 40 square miles of public lands."

If that happened, the coalition said, next would come "massive new development of roads, pipelines and utility corridors."

However, the legislation has not been finalized and Bennett and Matheson are said to be open to public comment. The group believes they will adjust the proposal based on statements from the public.

"All written and oral comments collected at the June 29th hearing will be delivered to Sen. Bennett's Bennett and Rep. Matheson's offices for consideration," said a press release from the coalition.

The coalition cited sited results of a survey that found Utahns are overwhelmingly in favor of more public hearings on the proposal. The survey results are posted at www.wilderness.org/NewsRoom/Release/20060621.cfm. The posting is headed: "89 percent of Utahns want public hearings on Washington County bill." The statewide poll was conducted for the coalition by Dan Jones & Associates of Salt Lake City in early June, the Web site says.