CONSERVATION CONSTERNATION

Gov. Huntsman Gives Utah’s Wilderness the Bird

By Tracy Medley, 10-20-06

It should come as no surprise that Governor Huntsman plans to submit his proposal for Utah’s Roadless wilderness area to the federal government, just in time (states have until November 13 of this year) to beat out any restraints that would be placed on the state by the reinstatement of the National Forest Roadless Rule.

The Roadless Rule, which originated during the Clinton Administration, was put in place to protect millions of acres of America’s wilderness areas, including 8.1 million pristine acres in Utah. The Roadless Rule was abruptly repealed by the Bush Administration in 2005 and replaced with a state petitioning program.

Huntsman has always been clear that he prefers a more “balanced” approach when it comes to conserving Utah’s open spaces; which in most cases translates to more “access;” access to both private development and off-road recreation.

Balance is one thing, but according to some, Huntsman’s petition for Utah goes too far.

Richard Warnick of One Utah writes, “The petition basically says that the State of Utah does not recognize the need to conserve roadless areas (except for designated wilderness).”

A letter-writing campaign to stop the petition is already underway.

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