Utah treasures need home

Recently, the Utah Museum of Natural History gave the Deseret Morning News editorial board a glimpse of its varied collections. Among the items was a cast of the head of Utah's state dinosaur, the Allosaurus. Then there were ancient Anasazi pots and a well-worn Anasazi sandal woven from yucca plants. There was a huge chunk of pyrite from a Park City mine. They were treasures, one and all.

The Utah Museum of Natural History holds some 1.2 million objects in trust, which are housed in several locations besides the museum headquarters on the University of Utah campus. Museum director Sarah George describes the collections as "soul of the museum." She's right.

These remarkable collections deserve a world-class home where Utahns — to whom they belong — can develop an appreciation and sense of Utah's natural history, from the time of the dinosaurs until now.

To that end, the museum is in the midst of an aggressive fund-raising campaign for construction of a 169,000-square-foot facility on 17 acres adjacent to Red Butte Gardens. Nearly half of the $65 million needed for the new museum has been raised through a combination of federal funds, private contributions and pledges. The groundbreaking for the museum is scheduled for 2007, when $50 million of the $65 million total must either be pledged or appropriated. Museum officials expressed their confidence that the fund-raising goal will be achieved. Utahns should give generously to preserve their natural history.

Because the federal government has appropriated $15 million toward the project, the museum must comply with the National Environmental Policy Act. After a public scoping process was conducted, the museum and the National Park Service jointly decided to prepare an environmental impact statement

According to the draft EIS, the preferred project plan envisions the museum and Red Butte Garden would share a pedestrian plaza and arrival/departure area. The statement also addresses impact on vegetation during construction of the building and parking facilities. Users of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail may be affected by museum construction.

Comments on the draft EIS will be accepted through Sept. 28. A public hearing will be conducted at 7 p.m. Sept. 5 at the Fort Douglas Officers Club. We encourage Utahns to take part in this process, which is another important step in establishing a new home for Utah's precious natural treasures.