For Immediate Release, January 14, 2021
Contact:
Sarah Thomas, Conserve Southwest Utah, (435) 590-8172, sarah@conserveswu.org
Randi Spivak, Center for Biological Diversity, (310) 779-4894, rspivak@biologicaldiversity.org
Trump Administration Flouts Law to Push Utah Highway Through Protected Conservation Lands
ST. GEORGE,
Utah The Trump administration issued a decision today to allow construction of the Northern Corridor Highway, a controversial four-lane highway through the protected Red Cliffs National Conservation Area in southwest Utah.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also issued a “take” permit today allowing destruction of Mojave desert tortoises in the path of the highway project and reducing protections elsewhere. Desert tortoises are protected as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Jason Jones
SALT LAKE CITY A proposed 4.5-mile, four-lane highway on Washington County’s wish list for more than two decades received the green light Thursday from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
The decision granting the right of way application came after the federal agencies worked with the applicant and Washington County to consider ways to offset the Mojave desert tortoise habitat losses from any approved development in southern Utah.
“The service is proud to continue long-term partnerships with Washington County, the state of Utah, the local community and the BLM to conserve the threatened desert tortoise while also balancing the long-term needs of growing communities,” said the service’s director Aurelia Skipwith. “This (plan) advances conservation through these crucial partnerships, and we thank all those involved for their collaboration and input.”
Published January 15, 2021 at 8:56 AM MST Listen • 5:19
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Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has appointed Gene Shawcroft as the state s new commissioner to the Upper Colorado River Commission. This story and more in the Friday morning news brief.
Friday morning, January 15, 2021
State
Utah State Of Emergency
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has declared a state of emergency starting Friday. It’s in anticipation of potential violent sieges of the state capitol, largely due to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration next week in Washington D.C. Cox said the National Guard is on standby to protect Utah’s capitol, and there will be zero tolerance for violence or property destruction. The state of emergency runs through Jan. 21, the day after Biden’s inauguration. It allows state law enforcement officials to close Capitol Hill if necessary.
SALT LAKE CITY A proposed 4.5-mile, four-lane highway on Washington County s wish list for more than two decades received the green light Thursday from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
The decision granting the right of way application came after the federal agencies worked with the applicant and Washington County to consider ways to offset the Mojave desert tortoise habitat losses from any approved development in southern Utah. The service is proud to continue long-term partnerships with Washington County, the state of Utah, the local community and the BLM to conserve the threatened desert tortoise while also balancing the long-term needs of growing communities, said the service s director Aurelia Skipwith. This (plan) advances conservation through these crucial partnerships, and we thank all those involved for their collaboration and input.
Two County water managers view proposed Cove Reservoir as beneficial to both Joan Meiners, St. George Spectrum & Daily News
A proposed reservoir project decades in the making moved another step towards reality Wednesday night as water managers fielded questions from the public about potential impacts to consumers and the environment in both Washington and Kane Counties.
The Cove Reservoir project aims to divert water from the East Fork of the Virgin River near Orderville, Utah, about 20 miles northeast and upstream of Zion National Park, into a reservoir with a capacity of just over 6,000 acre-feet. An acre-foot is the volume of water that would fill an area about the size of a football field to a depth of one foot.