Leavitt Seeks Common Ground on Land Use
By Mike Gorrell
The Salt Lake Tribune
Gov. Mike Leavitt and Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) leaders, though recently at odds, may find some common ground today when they meet to discuss the future of "wilderness" in Utah.
Their shared perspective involves the topic of R.S. 2477 roads through federally managed lands within the state.
One of two primary requests OIA President Frank Hugelmeyer and his colleague, Black Diamond Equipment owner Peter Metcalf, will put to Leavitt this morning is to waive publicly the state's interest in using an 1866 law, now known in shorthand as R.S. 2477, to claim title to "roads" in designated wilderness areas, national parks, Bureau of Land Management wilderness study areas and wildlife refuges.
Leavitt told The Salt Lake Tribune on Tuesday he made precisely that proposal to the U.S. Department of the Interior in negotiations that led to an April agreement in which the state dropped a likely winnable lawsuit against the Interior over its wilderness policy in Utah. In return, the federal agency ended the Clinton administration's wilderness-equivalent restrictions on permitted activities within almost 6 million acres of federal land in Utah.
The behind-the-scenes deal sparked a furor among environmentalists, who supported the de facto wilderness protections afforded roughly 9.1 million acres by former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. It also prompted Metcalf to call for the OIA to consider relocating future trade shows -- and their annual economic infusion of $24 million -- from Salt Lake City to another state more philosophically attuned to protecting natural assets important to hundreds of millions of recreationists and the $18 billion outdoor industry that serves them.
OIA members nationwide endorsed Metcalf's position, and the issue made headlines across the country.
Rather than viewing Metcalf's call as a threat, Leavitt said he saw it as an opportunity to forge a business-oriented partnership that could overcome ideological extremists, on both ends of the issue, who have blocked previous efforts to resolve the divisive wilderness debate.
"We have something in common here. I will propose we jointly promote an outdoor recreation economic ecosystem . . . aimed at making Utah the outdoor recreation capital of the world," the governor said.
While vowing to listen to the OIA leaders' positions, Leavitt said he also was prepared to outline a data-based process for designating legitimate roads through federal lands -- excluding tracks or other features that are not part of an integral transportation system -- and moving from there to accepting wilderness status for the 3.2 million acres originally identified by the BLM in 1991.
"We have 3.2 million acres ready. We ought to stop fighting about it and make it wilderness," he said, adding that with OIA support, "we could establish wilderness as the crown jewel in our outdoor experience."
Accepting the presence of roads through less sensitive lands is part of the bargain for OIA, but Leavitt figures the retailers will understand that "they can sell a backpack, but for someone to use it, they have to have a road to get" to the wilderness.
But as the governor acknowledged, likening his 15 years of experience in the wilderness debate to the futility of trying to bring peace to the Middle East, this lands-use issue is so emotionally charged and complex that it cannot be bitten off in large chunks and could be sidetracked easily.
The second request from the OIA leaders could prove difficult for Leavitt to comply with if he hopes to avoid being undermined by wilderness opponents. It is to ensure that the 6 million acres involved in April's agreement continue to receive de facto wilderness protection until Leavitt's proposed process is complete.
"That would preserve some incredibly wild areas for backcountry wilderness users," Metcalf said. Even more, Hugelmeyer added, the OIA's pair of requests "would have significant national implications. . . . With Leavitt being the senior governor in the United States, it would be a major statement for recreation as a whole."
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Thoughts/opinions?
By Mike Gorrell
The Salt Lake Tribune
Gov. Mike Leavitt and Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) leaders, though recently at odds, may find some common ground today when they meet to discuss the future of "wilderness" in Utah.
Their shared perspective involves the topic of R.S. 2477 roads through federally managed lands within the state.
One of two primary requests OIA President Frank Hugelmeyer and his colleague, Black Diamond Equipment owner Peter Metcalf, will put to Leavitt this morning is to waive publicly the state's interest in using an 1866 law, now known in shorthand as R.S. 2477, to claim title to "roads" in designated wilderness areas, national parks, Bureau of Land Management wilderness study areas and wildlife refuges.
Leavitt told The Salt Lake Tribune on Tuesday he made precisely that proposal to the U.S. Department of the Interior in negotiations that led to an April agreement in which the state dropped a likely winnable lawsuit against the Interior over its wilderness policy in Utah. In return, the federal agency ended the Clinton administration's wilderness-equivalent restrictions on permitted activities within almost 6 million acres of federal land in Utah.
The behind-the-scenes deal sparked a furor among environmentalists, who supported the de facto wilderness protections afforded roughly 9.1 million acres by former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. It also prompted Metcalf to call for the OIA to consider relocating future trade shows -- and their annual economic infusion of $24 million -- from Salt Lake City to another state more philosophically attuned to protecting natural assets important to hundreds of millions of recreationists and the $18 billion outdoor industry that serves them.
OIA members nationwide endorsed Metcalf's position, and the issue made headlines across the country.
Rather than viewing Metcalf's call as a threat, Leavitt said he saw it as an opportunity to forge a business-oriented partnership that could overcome ideological extremists, on both ends of the issue, who have blocked previous efforts to resolve the divisive wilderness debate.
"We have something in common here. I will propose we jointly promote an outdoor recreation economic ecosystem . . . aimed at making Utah the outdoor recreation capital of the world," the governor said.
While vowing to listen to the OIA leaders' positions, Leavitt said he also was prepared to outline a data-based process for designating legitimate roads through federal lands -- excluding tracks or other features that are not part of an integral transportation system -- and moving from there to accepting wilderness status for the 3.2 million acres originally identified by the BLM in 1991.
"We have 3.2 million acres ready. We ought to stop fighting about it and make it wilderness," he said, adding that with OIA support, "we could establish wilderness as the crown jewel in our outdoor experience."
Accepting the presence of roads through less sensitive lands is part of the bargain for OIA, but Leavitt figures the retailers will understand that "they can sell a backpack, but for someone to use it, they have to have a road to get" to the wilderness.
But as the governor acknowledged, likening his 15 years of experience in the wilderness debate to the futility of trying to bring peace to the Middle East, this lands-use issue is so emotionally charged and complex that it cannot be bitten off in large chunks and could be sidetracked easily.
The second request from the OIA leaders could prove difficult for Leavitt to comply with if he hopes to avoid being undermined by wilderness opponents. It is to ensure that the 6 million acres involved in April's agreement continue to receive de facto wilderness protection until Leavitt's proposed process is complete.
"That would preserve some incredibly wild areas for backcountry wilderness users," Metcalf said. Even more, Hugelmeyer added, the OIA's pair of requests "would have significant national implications. . . . With Leavitt being the senior governor in the United States, it would be a major statement for recreation as a whole."
[email protected]
Thoughts/opinions?
