Summer 1998
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Summer 1998 [ Home ] [ Search Form ] [ Feedback ] |
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Monumental land swap between Utah and U.S.Utah Governor Michael O. Leavitt recently revealed plans for a historic land swap with the federal government. In, what the Governor called, an epic agreement, the school children of Utah (and other trust beneficiaries) will trade about 377,000 acres of inheld trust lands for $50 million in cash, additional federal royalty revenues, federal lands, coal and other minerals. The agreement was reached a few weeks after Governor Leavitt and United States Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt decided to move directly to a comprehensive settlement of inheld Utah trust lands problems. Two major main issues are resolved by the agreement. One is the decades-old problem of trust lands in National Parks, National Forests, Recreational Areas, Indian Reservations and other federally reserved areas in Utah -- about 200,000 acres. The second is the issue of trust lands within the boundaries of the newly created Grand Staircase -- Escalante National Monument -- about 177,000 acres. The next step in implementing the agreement is for the United States Congress to enact legislation to complete the proposed exchange. The exchange legislation has been introduced by Utah Representative Jim Hansen -- H.R. 3830. The bill has the support of the United States Department of Interior and the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration. It is also endorsed by Utah's education community and major environmental organizations. The legislation yields many benefits including:
"For the first time in decades, we've made extraordinary progress in solving some major land management problems in Utah," says Trust Lands Administration Director David Terry. "Governor Leavitt and Secretary Babbitt have given us this great opportunity. It's a fair deal for Utah's school children, and it's a fair deal for the United States of America."
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