This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Washington • Supporters of a proposed land exchange and management of the central Wasatch Mountains told a congressional subcommittee Tuesday how the long-negotiated deal would help not only preserve pristine areas but also boost the ski industry.
The House Natural Resources subcommittee on federal lands heard testimony on legislation to create the Mountain Accord, which largely has the support of Utah's ski industry and environmental world.
"You'll be impressed by the broad range of people that have poured their hearts and souls into our local communities and have come together in a collective way," Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said of the agreement on managing the popular range. "That really is, I think, a model of how this process should move forward."
The legislation, which faces a steep battle for passage in Congress' short lame-duck session this year, would designate some 80,000 acres of Forest Service land as a conservation and recreation area, adjust existing wilderness boundaries to accommodate the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and open up areas for possible future transportation projects.
Proponents said the two-year negotiations on the measure showed that consensus can be reached in complicated land agreements.
"This legislation addresses urgent needs we have in this area, and I believe the collaborative approach provided in this legislation is a new and smart approach to how to deal with the complex issues of land use in these precious canyons," Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan told the subcommittee.
Glenn Casamassa, associate deputy chief of the national forest system for the Forest Service, said the agency supports the Mountain Accord as long as some technical changes are made.
Save Our Canyons Executive Director Carl Fisher said the legislation was just the start of the process to ensure the canyons are managed for generations to come.
"What needs to happen for the Wasatch doesn't end with this legislation," Fisher testified, "it begins here with a request to protect the qualities of this landscape that cannot be built or engineered, they can only be protected."
The legislation creating the 80,000-acre conservation and recreation area is backed by Utah's all-Republican congressional delegation, Gov. Gary Herbert, and the state's most prominent elected Democrats — Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams and Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski.
"Everyone understands we have a once in a generation opportunity to protect the peaks, canyons and streams which help define our area," Biskupski said in written testimony submitted to the subcommittee.