SUWA lists its 10 most threatened places in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — Among all of Utah's scenic "treasures," 10 that are threatened by off-road vehicle use and oil and gas development were recognized by a local environmental group Thursday.

Unveiled at a press conference, the report by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance represents the first statewide review of its kind and is a call to federal officials to rescind an agreement inked in 2003 between the Bush administration and then-Gov. Mike Leavitt.

The "No More Wild" pact, according to SUWA, paved the way for unprecedented development of public lands in Utah, relinquishing regulatory oversight in favor of multiuse access that is threatening some of the state's most pristine areas.

"Some of these places are areas that people probably know and love, and they may not realize they are threatened right now," said Heidi McIntosh, SUWA's associate director. "This is the type of analysis that can help you formulate some management action to help solve the problem."

But state Rep. Mike Noel, a member of Gov. Gary Herbert's Balanced Resource Council that deals with public land issues, said SUWA's approach is all wrong and goes too far.

"There should be absolutely no more wilderness study areas in this state," said Noel, a Republican from Kanab.

"This report is just being used to exert political pressure and draw attention to their cause. In reality, none of these areas are threatened. It's all baloney."

Noel said legislation has been passed that tightens restrictions on off-road vehicle use and controls "unfettered access on public lands." SUWA's contention regarding irreparable damage being done to these areas is "a joke," he said.

The 14-page report, "Utah's Ten Most Threatened Wilderness Treasures," is based on what SUWA says are detailed inventories and an analysis of the Bureau of Land Management's own documentation of threats to places such as upper Desolation Canyon and the Vermillion Cliffs at upper Kanab Creek.

It asserts that nine of the 10 places highlighted include streams and water-dependent wildlife habitat.

"These are ecological treasure troves. Although these valuable places make up just 1 percent of the landmass statewide, they support about 80 percent of all wildlife," the report says.

All of the areas, according to SUWA, qualify as wilderness and are included in the Red Rock Wilderness Act, which received its first hearing in Congress this year but did not pass.