UEC Appeals Monroe Mountain Decision
On Monday, January 22 the Utah Environmental Congress filed its first
appeal of the new year. The UEC Appealed the Record of Decision singed by
former Fishlake National Forest Supervisor Rob Mrowka in December that
impacted five roadless areas on Monroe Mountain located just southeast of
Richfield, UT.
While the decision stated that only prescribed fire would be used within
inventoried roadless areas, the Fishlake National Forest "revalidated" its
inventory prior to finalizing the decision. This revalidation, which was
not reflected in roadless data provided to the Washington Office of the
Forest Service in preparation for the new Roadless Area Conservation Policy.
As a result of the revalidation, more than 11,000 acres of roadless land
was dropped from the previous roadless area inventory. The public has never
been given an opportunity to comment on the roadless area "revalidation" and
question the methods the Fishlake is employing to eliminate land from its
original roadless area inventory.
To give an example of how poorly the revalidation has been done on
Monroe Mountain, the Fishlake National Forest, in one roadless area, is now
using a pack trail as a boundary "road." The pack trail runs through a
semi-primitive non-motorized area where all motorized recreation is
prohibited. How a pack trail turns into a 4WD trail while running through
an area banned to all motorized activity is anyone's guess.
The areas removed from the original roadless inventory will be
extensively logged. Herbicide will be applied to the silver sage across
much of the Project Area. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate
to contact our office at (801)466-4055.
