SUWA Pushes To Protect 10 Scenic Areas In Utah

The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance is pushing to win federal protection for 10 Utah areas it calls scenic treasures. The environmental group has released what it calls the first statewide review of its kind, and is asking federal officials to rescind a land-use agreement made in 2003 between the Bush administration and then-Gov Mike Leavitt.

The Deseret News has this article about the issue. Below are excerpts.

"Some of these places are areas that people probably know and love, and they may not realize they are threatened right now," said Heidi McIntosh, SUWA's associate director. "This is the type of analysis that can help you formulate some management action to help solve the problem."

But state Rep. Mike Noel, a member of Gov. Gary Herbert's Balanced Resource Council that deals with public land issues, said SUWA's approach is all wrong and goes too far.

"There should be absolutely no more wilderness study areas in this state," said Noel, a Republican from Kanab.

Here's a list of the 10 areas:
- Glen Canyon-San Juan River
- Cedar Mesa Comb Ridge
-  Canyonlands Basin and Rims
-  Labyrinth Canyon along the Green River
-  Upper Desolation Canyon
-  Dirty Devil Country
-  Moquith Mountain Wilderness Study Area
-  Factory Butte east of Capitol Reef National Park
- Vermillion Cliffs-Upper Kanab Creek
-  Price River-Lost Spring Wash