Franklin Seal, a member of SUWA, as well
as a member of the Redrock Heritage Coalition, attended our Moab Bird Club
meeting on Tuesday. He made a presentation to the group in April when we
met at Dave & Marilyn Stolfa's home. He is now asking for an
endorsement for the Red Rock Heritage Proposal from the Bird Club. We only
had 7 members present Tuesday and didn't feel we could speak for the
group. The Red Rock Heritage Proposal is included below. Please read
it, and go to their web site if you need more details.(www.redrockheritage.org)
We are not endorsing or opposing this proposal,
just asking you get back to us with what you wish to do. We would like to
let Franklin know if this group supports the proposal by the end of the
month.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2004 3:36 PM
Subject: Moab Bird Club endorsement of Redrock Heritage
Proposal
Hi Marion,
Thanks again for having me to the Bird
Club picnic. Below is the email I promised. Feel free to edit freely, or to
re-write it if you would prefer it come from you.
Dear Moab Bird Club members:
On behalf of
all the members of the Redrock Heritage Coalition, I would like to ask the
Moab Bird Club to endorse the proposed management plan submitted to the Moab
BLM Field Office last February. This plan primarily concerns off-road-vehicles
and oil and gas development.
It all boils down to one word:
balance. Balance is what we need, it?s what the other proposed
alternatives lack, and it?s what our proposal provides. Without a balanced
management plan, the land will suffer, the animals and birds will suffer,
non-motorized public land users will suffer, our local economy will suffer,
our sense of community will suffer.
If you were among the 20 or so
members who attended the April 20 Bird Club gathering at the Stolfas?, you
will probably be familiar with the proposal. You may also have read one of the
several articles about the proposal in our local newspaper, read one of the
numerous letters to the editor or seen the proposal at one of the many retail
shops in town that have it on display on a clip board at the counter. For a
detailed review of the proposal with maps you can download and view with
Acrobat Reader, please visit www.redrockheritage.org. I?ve also included a
short description below.
After reviewing the proposal please reply
to Marion Eason indicating whether or not you wish the Bird Club to endorse
it. We had hoped to take care of this item at the club meeting Tuesday
evening but too few members showed up. Because the BLM is right now in the
process of deciding how to frame the alternatives, which will probably come
out in a draft Environmental Impact Statement sometime this fall, it is
important that we decide the endorsement question soon. The small group that
showed up Tuesday evening proposed we conduct this straw poll via email. I
hope you approve.
By way of introduction, The Redrock Heritage
Coalition is made up of a broad cross-section of the local community,
including Jeff Flanders (KZMU), Eileen Berry (Moab Music Festival), Candee
Pearson (former Trail Mix) and Kevin Walker (Sierra Club) and Franklin Seal
(SUWA). The proposal has been endorsed by the local chapters of the Back
Country Horsemen Association, Sierra Club, Living Rivers, along with 45 local
businesses and over 1,900 individuals. Two weeks ago the Moab Chamber of
Commerce received an hour-long presentation on it?s effect in helping sustain
our local economy. It is increasingly being seen as one of the moderate
alternatives.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and
reply,
Franklin Seal
The Redrock Heritage Proposal
For many, the redrock wilderness of southeast Utah
is the greatest place on earth. It has inspired hundreds of writers and
artists. People are captivated by the aesthetic qualities of canyon country,
including the striking clear skies, sprawling vistas, profound natural quiet,
geological marvels, and its wild and primitive feel.
Unfortunately, the
threats to this world-famous landscape are great and growing. Oil and
gas development is escalating, leaving behind toxic sludge pits and an
unwieldy system of roads that permanently scares this world-class scenery.
Off-road vehicle use is causing loss of natural quiet, soil and crusts,
damage to desert streams and springs and conflicts with other users. Domestic
livestock grazing in this desert ecosystem is devastating to the native
vegetation and drastically reduces forage for the wildlife that call this
landscape home.
The BLM must acknowledge these lands are a precious
resource that should not be managed as just another place for oil drilling,
unmitigated grazing and ORV mayhem. Economically, it makes sense to protect
them. Studies show that communities with protected wilderness show economic
resilience. The aim of this proposal is to care for the goose laying the
golden eggs.
Travel Plan: Road and Trail
Network
The current road
and trail network in SE Utah is the unplanned result of historical seismic and
mineral exploration. This haphazard spider web of routes makes no sense
whatsoever as a reasonable recreational transportation plan. Our proposal (see
attached map) embodies the following guidelines:
- Vehicles should be restricted to designated roads
and trails throughout the entire resource areas -- no "open" ORV play areas.
- All routes should serve some identifiable purpose.
- There needs to be adequate opportunities for both
motorized and non-motorized recreation, while avoiding conflicts between
these two groups.
- In order to facilitate enforcement, there should be
a "closed unless signed open" policy.
- Ecologically damaging routes, such as routes through
riparian areas, should be closed.
- There needs to be adequate opportunities to get out
of earshot of motorized trails.
Oil and Gas
Oil and gas exploration and development is one of the
major causes of environmental destruction in SE Utah. But most geologists
agree that very little energy remains to be tapped outside the areas already
developed. If every remaining undeveloped area in Utah were filled with
drill pads, it would extend our national oil supply by about 3 weeks and our
natural gas supply by less than 5 months.
- O & G development could continue in and near
productive areas such as the eastern Book Cliffs and Lisbon Valley.
- O & G development would be phased out in the
eastern Canyonlands Basin, Labyrinth/Goldbar/Island in the Sky area, Dome
Plateau, and Fisher Valley.
Other Provisions
- New lights in remote areas are strongly discouraged.
- BLM will determine which lands are suitable and
appropriate for livestock grazing.
- All grazing allotments will be eligible for
voluntary buyout and retirement.
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