'Balance' sought in Utah land issues

Nearly two-thirds of Utah land is managed by the federal government. How that land is managed is often the subject of intense debate. Because of that, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar convened a special "listening session" to hear from the public on how best to manage the lands.

"Our charge today is really how to figure out a way forward with you here in Utah," Salazar said Tuesday. "To move forward on the conservation agenda."


Salazar wanted to hear people's opinions, and he heard plenty of them. So many people lined up to speak, he was forced to limit the amount of time they could speak to get in more opinions.

"Ranchers are good stewards of the land," said one man.

"Land managers here are unwilling to work with mountain bikers," said another.

Topics ranged from grazing and wolf killing to renewable energy and jobs lost because of federal drilling policies. Utah is being hailed as an example of finding balance in contentious land debates. Governor Gary Herbert has convened a panel to discuss and find compromises to environmental issues.

Recently, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance brokered a deal with the Bill Barrett Energy Corp. on natural gas drilling near Green River's Desolation Canyon. SUWA representative Deeda Seed told Fox 13 that the company got federal approval to drill wells in the area -- but also removed some of its leases in wilderness areas.

Salazar was in Utah briefly for the meeting. He also toured the neighboring Outdoor Retailers Expo.

Meanwhile, Utah's governor called out the Interior Secretary to appeal a controversial court ruling on spent nuclear fuel rods on the Skull Valley Goshute Indian Reservation. A federal judge in Denver last week overturned an Interior Department decision blocking the Skull Valley Goshute Tribe from setting up a storage facility.

"I just want to make the formal request to you, that we respectfully ask the Department of Interior to appeal the decision," Herbert said to Salazar at the beginning of the meeting.

Herbert's request was met with applause, but Salazar was non-committal at a news conference later in the morning.

"The decision came down last week," he said. "We're taking a close look at it and we'll continue to look at what the judge found and make a determination."

Herbert also met privately with Salazar and said the Interior Secretary was silent about the issue.

"He has not made any comment on that," the governor said. "I think the state of Utah's position he understands very clearly."

The Skull Valley Goshutes have pushed for years to store spent nuclear fuel rods on their reservation in Utah's West Desert, about 45 miles west of Salt Lake City. The Interior Department has twice rejected their efforts. A federal judge overturned those decisions.

The federal government has 60 days to decide whether or not to appeal the ruling.