Dixie growth act gets hearing in Congress

The Washington County Growth and Conservation Act of 2006 received its first congressional hearing on Thursday, giving lawmakers a chance to hear from those on both sides of the controversial issue.

A short list of witnesses testified before the House Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health about the proposed legislation, which is sponsored by Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, and Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah.

"The secret of this beautiful area is out. The county seat, St. George, is, according to the Census Bureau, the fastest-growing metropolitan area five years running," Matheson said during his opening statement before the subcommittee. "The recent population boom quite frankly caught local leaders unprepared. Traffic jams and sprawl mar the scenic desert valleys. No good can come from more haphazard, uncontrolled growth."

The bill would establish more wilderness areas in the county, protect endangered species and plants, identify utility corridors, establish off-highway vehicle trails, name Utah's first Wild and Scenic River, and sell off up to 24,300 acres of public land to private buyers.

The legislation is modeled after a similar comprehensive land-use bill for Lincoln and Clark County, Nev., that was passed earlier by Congress.

Washington County Commissioner Alan Gardner also testified at Thursday's hearing.

"One of our foremost objectives with this legislation was to get a handle on growth," he told the subcommittee. "We don't want to stop it. We just want to equip the county as well as the cities and towns in the area with the tools to direct growth, rather that just reacting to it."

Suzanne Jones, a regional director in Denver for The Wilderness Society, voiced opposition to the bill and "deep concern with this legislation" on behalf of the Utah Wilderness Coalition and its members.

"The bill would cause lasting impacts to the landscape and communities in Washington County before a plan for the future of this area has determined what is needed for the region," Jones testified. "Local, statewide, and national opposition highlight the dangers of selling off massive amounts of public lands to fund local development."

Matheson said the bill contained important compromises from all stakeholders.

"It is true that no one, from any particular interest group, got everything sought from this bill," he said. "To those who say it is short on wilderness, I would point out that there is no barrier for them to continue to try for more in the future."

Also testifying at the hearing was Chad Calvert, an assistant secretary of land and minerals management in the U.S. Department of Interior, and Mark Rey, under secretary of natural resources and environment with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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