A coveted rail station

Of all the tugs and pulls surrounding a possible commuter rail station near 13500 South and the Union Pacific tracks in southern Salt Lake County, one fact is abundantly clear. The land in question is valuable.

It's valuable to the developers who may receive it from the state in exchange for other land they own, because its location near a river and Bangerter Highway would make for an attractive place to put a rail-oriented neighborhood. It's valuable to the Utah Transit Authority because those same factors would make for a nice station that would encourage people to ride commuter rail. And it ought to be valuable to people countywide because, in these troubled times, a successful development would enhance the economy, provide jobs and fill tax coffers.

But it also should be valuable to all Utahns because it contains the remains of a 3,000-year-old Native American settlement that has rewritten history books. Until this village was discovered and preliminary excavation carried out, experts had no evidence people were farming in the valley so long ago — 500 years earlier than previously thought. And environmentalists consider the place valuable because its pristine condition near water has made it a valuable spot for migrating birds.

We're encouraged that both Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and UTA appear to be taking the matter seriously. Although the governor signed a bill this month making the land swap possible, he has met with concerned parties and plans to visit the site. UTA's attorney says the authority is planning to hire a consultant to study the site's archaeological and environmental importance and that the site would be abandoned if that report shows those factors to be too important.

But being encouraged is not the same as breathing easy.

Everyone along the Wasatch Front should share the hope that FrontRunner succeeds as a commuter rail line, just as TRAX has as a light-rail alternative. Despite the current recession, the population will continue to grow, and a viable transit framework will enhance the environment and keep traffic flowing.

But everyone in Utah and beyond has a stake in the preservation of both history and the environment. Much already has been learned from just a preliminary dig at the ancient village site. A final decision that involves moving those remains would be unacceptable. They can be best understood in their original location, a fact that will be especially evident as technology improves the ability to learn from the soil.

This decision must not be rushed. Given allegations that political connections are being served and that a previous House speaker killed a conservation easement there to serve his own clients, it is especially important that all issues be thoroughly discussed and vetted, and that interests beyond money and ridership be given full consideration.