SALT LAKE CITY — It was "Utah Week" at a congressional markup hearing on Wednesday, where legislative proposals by all four of the state's representatives were voted on favorably. Reps. Rob Bishop, Mia Love, Chris Stewart and John Curtis, all R-Utah, all had bills before the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources dealing with a wide range of issues — from streamlining permitting for broadband in rural areas to a federal land transfer involving 2.6 acres of Forest Service property. Bishop, chairman of the committee, said at the outset of the hearing that the Utah bills prove that it is not necessary to be from a big state or large urban area to influence policy decisions. "The rarity of this event is noteworthy," he said. The most controversial of the measures, HR5597 by Stewart, received a 21-14 vote. It expands desert tortoise habitat in Washington County by adding 6,800 acres in exchange for disturbing 147 acres to put in a northern transportation corridor in the nation's fastest growing county. Critics said it adds more disturbance to the habitat of an already threatened species, but Bishop stressed the corridor has long been promised to Washington County residents to meet demands of a growing population. Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-Calif., said he attended a rare field hearing in St. George in 2016 and was "struck" by the number of people who came out who were opposed to the transportation route because of its effect on the tortoise. At that hearing, the Bureau of Land Management was widely criticized by lawmakers and county leaders as being the poster child of "bad behavior" for failing to identify a route for the corridor as Bishop said was promised. "There was a deal made on the bill. There had to be a transportation corridor for future growth in Washington County," Bishop said Wednesday."The BLM was to identify a route. They did not do that." The ultimate Memorial Day weekend guide: events, destinations and more This Memorial Day, salute the past and celebrate the present with our itineraries that are good for staying put or wandering... Curtis' HR4824 streamlines the permitting process for the extension of broadband in rural communities by granting a categorical exclusion if installation will occur in an already established utility corridor. The exclusion means there would not be an additional round of environmental review necessary. The bill also allows states to conduct the permitting, even if on federal land, as long as the arrangement is voluntary between the state and federal government. Some Democrat members of the committee had objections on the categorical exclusion, asserting it would too broadly eliminate environmental review even in extraordinary circumstances. Love is running HR3777, which provides for a transfer of 2.6 acres of U.S. Forest Service land and property to Juab County. The land is home to the Nephi Work Center, which historically was used to house Forest Service support services for management of the Spanish Fork Ranger District. The federal government is seeking disposal of the property, and the Juab County Special Service Fire District wants a permanent base for its wildland firefighters. Bishop's HR5751 redesignates the Golden Spike National Historic Site as the Golden Spike National Historical Park and also establishes the Transcontinental Railroad Network. The bill is designed to elevate the status of the historic site where completion of the transcontinental railroad happened at Promontory in northern Utah in 1869. The 150th anniversary of that milestone will be noted in a huge celebration planned next year.