GSENM UPDATE

[lyoness@castlenet.com (Joane White)]

I just received the actual document from the Cedar City BLM Office today. It
is 2 inches thick!  I have now read it, but do not claim to have done more
that scan it. I had been told over the phone that this was just the draft
Management Plan. It is also the draft Environmental Impact Statement.  That
is a significant difference.

Actually, all of the proposals have serious concerns, including Proposal A
which we have all been asked to support.  That Proposal still has limits for
the Escalante Canyons that are quite severe and implies that even special
events might not be allowed through that area.  Although Proposal A allows
1997 Special Events to continue to be permitted, it does not allow any new
events.  Some of the other Proposals do. Some of the other proposals will
allow special event permitting but not in certain Backcountry and Primitive
areas which the Outlaw Trail crosses. I'm in the process of trying to
overlay the Outlaw Trail Ride Map over the Monument Map with its different
zones of protection.  It does appear to me that those two maps will conflict
in a couple of areas.

Proposal B is the one supported by the BLM.  It is one of the more
restrictive plans.  The Proposals do not range from least to most
restrictive.  Actually, Proposal E is one of the better choices. 

All of the Proposals allow horses and pack animals in at least most of the
Monument. BUT the group limits are really restrictive, particularly as
defined.  For example, a group of any size is people and/or horses so the
limit of 12 in a group(a number frequently used in many proposals) means 6
people and 6 horses or 4 people, 4 riding horses and 4 pack horses.  

Camping is affected considerably by the various proposals.  The thing that
really strikes me is that if you aren't a young, athletic hiker or a
horseperson, you will never even have the chance to see 99% of the Monument.
Even hiking or on horseback, there are many areas that are listed as
Primitive that are either off limits or badly restricted.  

All of the standard safeguards and procedures which are usually used for
these kinds of actions have be overridden by the Presidential Proclamation
BUT it does appear that Governor Leavitt and Bruce Babbitt do have some veto
power. So the voice of the masses is important here.

Right now, Proposal A basically leaves an interim plan in place.  It could
be made more restrictive but would probably not be because of local
political pressure.  Interestingly enough, a group based outside of Utah
which calls itself the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance is spending a lot
of money trying to convince the BLM to adopt the most restrictive plan
possible.  That was the reason for the creation of the Utah Shared Access
Alliance who did return my call and asked for our support in the letter and
email campaign.

Recommended points for your letters:

1.  Proposal A will force discussions back to the local planners and allow
for further study and imput before creating a plan that will have a
permanent effect on all of us.  The normal procedures generally used in such
cases provide safeguards for all of us and the expedited process created by
the President's Proclamation is not in anyone's best interest. Why not just
spend the time, go through the proper procedures and do it right the first time.

2.  Certain Historic Events like the Outlaw Trail should be preserved and
the designation of zones with different levels of protection needs to be
studied to make sure that such zones are not in conflict with significant
historic uses.  Further study is also needed to make sure the zone
designation is not arbitrary and capricious.

3.  A definition of "groups" which includes animals (horses and pack
animals) makes even many family activities too large but certainly it rules
out any group activites such as 4H Clubs, Riding Clubs etc.  The group size
limits do not appear to have any real justification based on impact on the
land itself--at least nothing contained in the DMP/DEIS.  Until specific
reasons are established to justify limiting size and access, we should error
on the side of freedom of access. 

Please email or write before the deadline of February 12th:

The website is:   www.ut.blm.gov/monument
To access the email for responses hit Feedback at the bottom of the Homepage.

Or you can write to:
 Pete Wilkins, Team Leader
 Grand Staircase-Escalante Nat. Monument
 337 South Main Street, Suite 010
 Cedar City, UT  84720.

If you are going to write and mail, please do so fast as the comments must
be IN the Cedar City Office by February 12th.


Thanks for your support,

Joane White, J.D.
Price, Utah