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The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee will hold a field oversight hearing Jan. 22 in St. George to hear local complaints about Bureau of Land Management planning in southwestern Utah.

Washington County officials have been displeased with what they say is the BLM's unwillingness to accommodate their interests in revising a resource management plan for the St. George field office. Their gripes focus on the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area (NCA) where they hope to cut a road to alleviate traffic congestion in the fast-growing region. The county commission blasted a draft plan it said is heavy on conservation at the expense of motorized recreation, grazing and other traditional uses.

The hearing will be convened by Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., chairman of the federal lands subcommittee, and is titled, "Ensuring Local Input, Legal Consistency and Multi-Use Resource Management in St. George BLM Planning."

No witness list has been released, but it is likely that the powerful parent committee, chaired by Utah Republican Rob Bishop, wants to hear from Washington County leaders and residents who complained loudly last fall about the BLM's management vision for the Red Cliffs NCA.

This terrain stretches from the northern and eastern edges of St. George to the Pine Valley Mountains. It is valued as scenic open space beside rapidly urbanizing landscape and as vital habitat for imperiled Mojave desert tortoise.

Public comment closed Nov. 16 on draft plans for the Red Cliffs and nearby Beaver Dam NCAs. The BLM is under a court order to issue a final plan by June 30, but last week the U.S. Attorney's Office filed a motion to extend the deadline to the end of the year.

More time is needed to "honor Washington County's role as a cooperating agency," U.S. Attorney John Huber wrote in a filing. "As a cooperating agency, Washington County has expressed numerous concerns with the draft management plan, which merit considered and thoughtful discussion."

The motion is a clear nod to the county's concerns. Local leaders have denounced the BLM's preferred alternative, calling it too restrictive. The failure to identify an alignment for Washington County's proposed Northern Transportation Corridor was their chief objection. This 8-mile highway would cross the Red Cliffs NCA, providing a shortcut between Santa Clara and Washington.

Local leaders claim that this right of way was promised as part of the negotiations that led to the Red Cliffs designation in 2009.

Conservationists say the BLM agreed only to consider such a road when it crafted a management plan. The BLM's environmental analysis did study the impacts of the road and wound up not favoring the county's preferred alignment.

The NCA management plans were to be completed within three years of the Red Cliffs designation under the 2009 Omnibus Public Land Management Act. But the BLM took so long that the owner of a large inholding sued in 2013. A federal judge set a deadline to complete a plan by June 30.

Last July, the BLM released an 1,100-page draft Environmental Impact Statement, giving the county 90 days to comment. The comment period was later extended by 30 days, but county leaders still complained they were not given enough say in identifying the plan's preferred alternative.

In an Oct. 6 letter to BLM Director Neil Kornze, Utah's full congressional delegation complained that the BLM shirked its obligations to work with the county as required under the 2009 law.

"The draft RMP is a clear demonstration that the BLM is failing to adhere to both the letter and spirit of the law," the delegation wrote.

The oversight hearing will be held in the Dixie Center on the morning of Jan. 22. The BLM has been invited and the agency expects to send acting Utah state Director Jenna Whitlock.

The hearing will be followed by a town-hall-style listening session hosted by Rep. Chris Stewart, whose Salt Lake City district extends all the way to Washington County. Much of Stewart's district is administered by the BLM, while much of McClintock's, which covers much the Sierra Nevada east of Fresno, is administered by the U.S. Forest Service.

The press office for the Natural Resources Committee did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Brian Maffly covers public lands for Salt Lake Tribune. Maffly can be reached at bmaffly@sltrib.com or 801-257-8713. Twitter: @brianmaffly