But Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, insists that there is no conflict of interest, and calls that charge simply the latest in a series of "personal attacks" on him by environmentalists.

Noel earlier in the legislative session sought a state appropriation of $326,000 to help Kane and Garfield counties defray the legal costs of lawsuits they have filed, and have been filed against them, in ongoing disputes over road claims and grazing permits in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

But the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and Grand Canyon Trust charge that the portion of the money set aside for the grazing suit will benefit Trevor D. Stewart, one of the area ranchers who is part of the suit - and is Noel's son-in-law.

"Basically, Trevor Stewart is benefiting from the public paying these legal bills. It must be nice to be related to a legislator," SUWA conservation director Heidi McIntosh said Wednesday.

Noel bristles at the charge. He says when the counties were dismissed from the grazing suit last fall, it essentially ended their ability to pay the continued legal costs of the ranchers - who are pressing on with their claim that monument grazing permits issued to the Flagstaff, Ariz.-based Grand Canyon Trust are illegal.

"Right now, the money [for the ranchers' legal costs] is coming from the Utah Farm Bureau and the Utah Cattlemen's Association," Noel said. "There is no conflict of interest. No individual litigant is getting one dime from the state."

Left unclear is whether the proposed appropriation would cover any of the period when the county and the ranchers were co-litigants. There are also questions about the counties' intent if the grazing suit continues to move forward.

Cullen Battle, an attorney for the Grand Canyon Trust, says the conservation group filed a federal suit last year to enjoin Kane and Garfield counties from continuing to underwrite the ranchers, which he charges is their intent.

"The counties say they will continue to pay the fees, even though they're no longer directly involved in the case. We say that's a misuse of public funds," Battle said.

Phone calls to Kane County officials late Wednesday afternoon were not immediately returned.

Noel's appropriation also faces opposition from the state's Public Lands Policy Coordination Office, though for different reasons. Director Lynn Stevens says the money, which would come from his budget, should be vetted by his office before being unilaterally directed to Kane and Garfield counties.

"That money is made available to all the counties of the state," he said. "If [Kane and Garfield] want it, they should make their case."

jbaird@sltrib.com

"Basically, Trevor Stewart is benefiting from the public paying these legal bills. It must be nice to be related to a legislator."

HEIDI MCINTOSH

SUWA conservation director