Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. included the southern Utah town in a two-day swing through the state to press the flesh with residents and sign legislation into law.

In Kanab, besides attaching his name to a law intended to give counties and the state more say in managing federal lands, the governor paid condolences to the family of the 10-year-old boy who lost his life when tons of earth sloughed off a cliff and buried him Saturday.

The governor was welcomed by about 300 students and residents at the Kanab High School auditorium. The first-term governor gave the students and residents a chance to watch him sign the Legislature's anti-nuclear-testing resolution and the new laws.

The most significant law establishes methods the state and counties can use while working with federal land agencies on establishing management policies.

Assistant Attorney General Mark Ward, who helped with the land-use legislation introduced by state Rep. Michael Noel, R-Kanab, said the new law intends to give Utah more clout in development of resource management plans by the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service.

“As a sovereign state, it is important we control our own destiny,” said Ward.

Before the signing, Huntsman solicited the help of Chelsea Vreeken, a middle school student who dated the document prior to the governor putting his signature on it.

Huntsman also signed legislation creating a new position on the state's agriculture board to be filled by a representative of the pork industry.

And he signed a resolution, passed unanimously by the Legislature, opposing the resumption of testing nuclear weapons at the Nevada Test Site.

After arriving nearly an hour late at the Kanab airport for Thursday's signing ceremony, the governor, wearing a bright green tie in honor of St. Patrick's Day, was warmly greeted by a contingent of area leaders. His 12-year-old son, Will, joined him on the trip.

Before reaching the high school, Huntsman stopped briefly at the site where Joshua Hutchings' body was recovered Sunday morning after it was buried by tons of earth the day before while Joshua walked with a sister and friend along Kanab Creek.

The governor, whose trip was planned before the death, then visited the home of Joshua's parents, where he offered condolences to the family and thanked high school students who had helped search for the boy.

mhavnes@sltrib.com