Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a hearing on H.R. 5727, Representative John Curtis’ bill the Emery County Public Land Management Act of 2018. This historic conservation bill, introduced with Senator Orrin Hatch, protects over one million acres in Utah’s Emery County. The product of two decades of local outreach and public meetings, this bill establishes a gold standard for future efforts to resolve long lasting problems facing our public lands. Watch Congressman Curtis testify on behalf of his bill “This bill is a win for everybody. It balances the needs of funding for Utah’s schools and conserving some of our nation’s most pristine land and resources,” Congressman Curtis said. “I am excited to champion this bill that helps add new resources and economic development opportunities to Emery County, and brings together conservation organizations, motorized and non-motorized recreation, sportsmen, local officials and governments, the State of Utah, the Congressional delegation, and many others. This is truly a local solution championed by the locals closest to the land.” Randy Johnson, representing Emery County, testified in support of the Emery County Public Land Management Act. The full hearing can be viewed here. Statements of Support Emery County Commission After decades of work on this legislation by the PLC we feel that the amazing resources in our County will be available for future generations as a result of this legislation. We are grateful that Senator Hatch and Representative Curtis and their staffs have helped with the appropriate language for this legislation. - Rod Player, Chairman, Emery County Public Lands Council We are pursuing congressional action to assure regulatory certainty for the outstanding natural resources in Emery County. This bill is inclusive of all stakeholders and their interests. It makes sense. It is a better way to make natural resource management decisions. We all will benefit. - Lynn Sitterud, Chairman, Emery County Commission John Gilroy, Director of U.S. Public Lands, The Pew Charitable Trusts [LETTER] We recognize that balanced, sensible, and comprehensive legislation is the best way to honor the values of a broad cross-section of public land users, local elected officials, and other interested stakeholders. We believe that the legislation you have introduced accomplishes that goal, and we are pleased to support it. John Sterling, Executive Director, The Conservation Alliance*, one behalf of The Conservation Alliance, Outdoor Industry Association and Outdoor Alliance [LETTER] The Conservation Alliance thanks Senator Hatch and Representative Curtis for introducing legislation that would protect public lands in Emery County, Utah for their conservation and outdoor recreation values. The Emery County Public Land Management Act of 2018 takes an important first step toward legislating important protections for public lands in the county. We look forward to working with Senator Hatch and Representative Curtis to identify conservation and recreation goals that are not addressed in the current legislation, and to advocate for those goals through the legislative process. We appreciate the collaborative approach these members of Congress have implemented in developing this legislation. *The Conservation Alliance is a group of more than 215 outdoor industry companies that work together to fund and partner with organizations to protect wild lands and waters throughout North America for their recreation and habitat values. Nathan Fey, Director of Colorado River Stewardship Program, American Whitewater On behalf of American Whitewater’s members and partners, I want to thank Sen Hatch and Rep. Curtis for introducing legislation to protect public lands and rivers in Emery County, Utah. The Emery County Public Land Management Act of 2018 reflects the collaborative approach taken in its development and protects nearly 1 Million acres of public lands and 98 miles of rivers in the county for their conservation and outdoor recreation values. Adding the Green River to the National Wild & Scenic Rivers System, and creating new Wilderness Areas for the San Rafael River and Muddy Creek, protect these high-value landscapes from any water development schemes and will help ensure that these waterways can be enjoyed in the future, just as they are today. We look forward to continuing to work with Senator Hatch and Representative Curtis to identify shared conservation and recreation priorities, and toward further improvements in the bill. Governor Gary Herbert, Governor of Utah I appreciate these efforts working with Emery County Commissioners and other leaders and stakeholders to develop the Emery County Public Land Management Act of 2018. It’s an important bill and is a great example of what can happen when members of a community set aside differences and work to find solutions that will benefit the county, its residents, and the state of Utah Edward Geary, Chairman, Emery County Historic Preservation Commission [LETTER] The Emery County Historic Preservation Commission strongly supports the Emery County Public Land Management Act of 2018. In addition to providing recognition and protection to large expanses of wilderness and other outstanding natural features, the proposed Act, and in particular the San Rafael Western Heritage and Historic Mining Conservation Area, will protect numerous sites of historic and cultural significance. Stuart Gosswein, Senior Director of Federal Government Affairs, SEMA SEMA and its members thank Senator Hatch and Representative Curtis for crafting the Emery County Public Land Management Act of 2018 in coordination with the motorized recreation community. This bill provides opportunities for off-road enthusiasts to recreate on over 7,700 acres of land within the proposed Temple Mountain Cooperative Management Area. This legislation recognizes the direct correlation between providing OHV access and the jobs tied to this $30 billion a year industry. Erik Murdock, Policy Director, The Access Fund The Access Fund appreciates the hard work and collaboration on this bill by Senator Hatch and Congressman Curtis. Over the past few months we’ve helped with several improvements to the bill related to recreation, and we look forward to working with Congress to continue to improve this proposed legislation pertaining to the management of rock climbing in Emery County. Adam Trupp, CEO, Utah Association of Counties [LETTER] Emery County officials and stakeholders have invested many years and much effort in crafting the legislation that Representative John Curtis wills soon introduce. During the development of the proposal that led to the legislation, stakeholders are supportive of this legislation including national conservation organizations, local and state recreation advocates, livestock producers and others. Andy Rasmussen, Utah Field Coordinator, Trout Unlimited (Sportsman’s Conservation Project) The proposed Emery County Lands bill represents a step forward for solving public lands management challenges in Utah. We applaud Emery County, Representative Curtis, Senator Hatch, and the Utah Congressional delegation for their commitment to collaborative problem solving. We believe that an open and inclusive process is the best approach for resolving decades-old public lands disputes and sustaining America’s public land heritage. We hope to see this same approach applied elsewhere in Utah where there are public lands and waters important to hunters, anglers and recreationists. Emery County does not have a coldwater fishery nexus. TU supports this process, but does not have a formal position – for or against – the bill Background For over two decades, Emery County, Utah has fine-tuned this broadly supported public lands legislation, which resolves longstanding questions about federal land management in the region and affords desired certainty to a broad range of local, conservationist, recreationist, and scientific stakeholders. This bill is a model for how Utahns can work together to solve public land management questions in some of the most unique, controversial areas of the state/country. After years of input and stakeholder engagement, this bill resolves a number of access and permitted-use issues, while establishing nearly one-million acres of permanent conservation—via a national monument, wilderness designations, and national conservation areas (NCAs). This legislation is: - Locally-driven by Emery County and local stakeholders; - Drafted using legislative precedent and previously passed laws, particularly the Washington County lands bill, P.L. 111-11; - Brings an uncommon variety of stakeholders to the table, including conservation organizations, motorized recreation, non-motorized recreation, sportsmen, local officials and governments, the State of Utah, the Congressional delegation, and many more. Major Provisions: - Establishes a conservation area to protect the recreational, cultural, historical, educational, natural, scenic and wildlife resources of the San Rafael Swell region; - Establishes a Jurassic National Monument to protect the - Converts ~ 97% of Wilderness Study Areas into Wilderness, with a net increase of wilderness level protection of over 140,000 acres; - Exchanges nearly 100,000 acres of SITLA land; - Empowers Utah State Parks to manage areas in critical need of improved management surrounding Goblin Valley State Park via a Recreation & Public Purposes agreement. Conservation by the Numbers: - Current Wilderness Study Areas: 436,643 acres; - Wilderness (after SITLA exchange): 577,986 acres; - National Conservation Area (after SITLA exchange): 383,380 acres; - Jurassic National Monument: 2,543 acres; - Utah State Parks Expansion (by Recreation and Public Purpose): 9,350 acres; - County Recreation and Public Purpose (4 separate): 2,852 acres. ###