August 21, 2014 Wayne & Garfield County Insider

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THE

Wayne & Garfield County

INSIDER

Panguitch • Panguitch Lake • Hatch • Bryce • Tropic • Antimony • Henrieville • Cannonville • Escalante • Boulder • Fremont • Loa • Lyman Bicknell • Teasdale • Torrey • Grover • Fruita • Caineville • Hanksville

Thursday, August 21, 2014 • Issue # 1062

Utah Symphony Plays Two Mighty Performances at Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef National Parks

Just about everybody was at the symphony. At left, Utah Governor Gary Herbert and Garfield County Commissioner Dell LeFevre share a moment during intermission at the Bryce Canyon event, just before Governor Herbert took the stage to conduct the orchestra. Above, beautiful skies and silhouetted mountains served as a backdrop for the Utah symphony performance in Teasdale.

Insider

BRYCE CANYON N.P. – The Utah Symphony set their stage at the rim of the Bryce Canyon amphitheater for their fourth “Mighty 5” performance last Friday, and the energy in the audience was both festive and mellow as several thousand people filed in on foot and on buses to watch their performance. At 8 o’clock sharp, Utah Symphony president Melia Torangeau welcomed everyone, and the symphony proceeded with well-selected pieces ranging from Schostakovich’s “Festive Overture,” to Strauss’ “Voices of Spring,” and Dvorak’s “Symphony No. 9 From the New World.”

Soprano Celena Shafer accompanied the orchestra for three pieces, and was especially well received by spectators for her performance of Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess.” It was a beautiful night for an outdoor concert, with kids able to move about freely and friends and neighbors from across Garfield County spotting one another in the audience and joining up for a brief chat and marveling at the unique opportunity to see a performance of this nature in such a magnificent setting. In a surprise performance not listed on the program, Utah Governor Gary Herbert took the stage and shared a

few remarks with the audience about his good fortune at having been taught piano as a child and later learning the trumpet, which lead him to a particular appreciation of marching music. Then, promising not to break conductor Thierry Fischer’s baton, he conducted the orchestra to a really rousing rendition of John Philip Sousa's "The Stars and Stripes Forever." Herbert completed his performance without a hitch, and his set was an audience favorite. Utah Symphony Director of Public Relations Renee Huang says that the inspiration for the “Mighty 5” Tour was to connect southern Utah

Op - Ed

Water: What Legacy Will We Leave? by Norman McKee Where does water, in seeps, springs, flowing creeks and wells come from? The spring snowmelt is long gone, and it is now well into a hot summer, with below “normal” rainfall. Yet creeks still flow and most wells still produce much needed water. However, it is not always that rosy. Some small streams no longer flow into summer. Some former springs and wells are now dry and are of no use during the driest part of the summer. Although unseen, the water in all of these sources is from underground storage aquifers. Healthy aquifers are critical for year-long water use. Most climatologists predict the new “normal” of the 21st century will be dryer in much of America’s Southwest than in the 20th century, when

our area was a bit wetter than the historical normal. This has to be a real concern to everyone, especially for the future of our children and grandchildren. Every living organism is totally dependent on water in one form or another. As humans, we are without life without adequate water. A report by the senior scientist of the U.S. Jet Propulsion Laboratory stated that a recent evaluation of NASA satellite data of the nation’s underground aquifers indicated that in recent years they have dropped to alarmingly low levels in many areas. It seems that much more water is being used than is being replaced. Nowhere is this more alarming and critical than in the growing Southwest U.S. The report indicated that by

REGIONAL Weather forecast for some but not all regions represented in our newspaper coverage area

Thurs. Aug. 21 - wed. Aug. 27 ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS are forecast for Thursday and Saturday, with chance of rain 30%. Mostly sunny for the remainder of the week. Highs in the 70s and warming slowly as the week progresses to the low 80s. Lows in the low 50s.

far the majority of fresh water is stored in underground aquifers, not in lakes and reservoirs, as we might expect. Replenishing natural underground aquifers is absolutely essential. Surface waters are also diminished. At this time, Lake Powell is at its lowest level since filling in 1983. Lake Mead is at critically low levels, causing more worry for officials and residents in a fast-growing Las Vegas and other major Southwest cities and towns. Forty million people are dependent on the waters of the Colorado River Basin. So what can be done besides just to complain and worry? Nature’s engineers, the beaver, were nearly eradicated in the 19th century by extensive trapping for their fur. They were nature’s “road Op-Ed: Water Cont'd on page 2

Adus Dorsey

communities with live music, as a way of kick-starting the symphony’s 75th Anniversary in 2015-2016 which just happens to coincide with the National Park system’s centennial anniversary. “We thought this would be an amazing way to celebrate our own achievements and as well as the five parks which are so iconic to our state,” said Huang. Huang emphasized that the Utah Symphony definitely views itself as “Utah’s symphony,” serving the entire state and not just Salt Lake City. She said the symphony regularly travels throughout the state for performances, and frequently performs outdoors, though never before on an outdoor tour of this intensity and scale. “We do travel down to southern Utah regularly,” said Huang. She said the Utah Symphony has an educational program with a goal of reaching every student in the state, which they plan on a three to five year tour rotation, so this moves them out into the communities quite a bit. “It is one of the most robust education departments of any orchestra in the nation,” she said. But she noted that the "Mighty 5" tour, for the entire Utah Symphony Cont'd on page 3

Dixie, Fishlake, and Manti-LaSal National Forests Initiate Forest Plan Assessment RICHFIELD - The Dixie, Fishlake, and Manti-La Sal National Forests are working together to assess whether their current forest plans provide adequate direction for managing livestock grazing in aquatic and riparian areas and sagebrush-grasslands. In the past year, forest managers decided to initiate a review of concerns related to natural resource conditions on the ground that may be affected by livestock grazing, and whether there are potential deficiencies in the forest plans. The assessment is being conducted because land managers have heard public disagreement about the existing and desired rangeland conditions on national forest lands in southern Utah. These disagreements are based on several factors including: · new science that was not available when the forest plans were approved in 1986, · differing values about natural resources, and · differing understanding of how forest plan direction applies to allotment-specific planning. Because of numerous issues and conflicting views surrounding livestock grazing, a team of resource specialists was requested to conduct an initial review to identify what, if any, changes in resource conditions have occurred between approval of the 1986 forest plans and today. The team was asked to identify resource concerns, determining whether they might be related to livestock management and what, if anything, in the forest plans’ direction could be related to those resource concerns. Where concerns about natural resource conditions were expressed, the team conducted a brief review of existing conditions. The team based this review on readily available monitoring information; information about existing conditions, including observed changes in natural resource conditions; and new scientific information. The team also

reviewed the forest plans and identified potential areas they felt did not provide adequate direction for managing resources potentially impacted by livestock grazing. This information is summarized in a document called “Initial Review of Livestock Grazing Effects on Select Ecosystems of the Dixie, Fishlake and MantiLa Sal National Forests” available upon request or online at http://go.usa.gov/NnHQ. Based on the initial review, a more detailed assessment of this situation is being conducted. For efficiency and effectiveness, the assessment is being conducted for all three national forests because of similarities in their natural resources and ecosystems. The primary purpose of the assessment is to determine whether there is a compelling need to change the forest plans with an amendment. The assessment will not be a decisionmaking document but instead will provide a rapid evaluation of existing and available information relevant to the concerns. The assessment will: · describe the current conditions and trends of the resources we are concerned about, and what the forest plans currently prescribe for managing those resources; · define key conditions necessary to maintain the riparian, aquatic, and sagebrush grassland ecosystems based on the best available scientific information; · examine if the desired conditions, goals, or objectives stated in the current forest plans are adequate for today’s management situations; and · identify any preliminary needs for change in the forest plans. If it’s determined there is a need to change any or all of the forest plans, the Forests will initiate another public involvement process related to developing an amendment that would be applicable to all Forest Plan

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Looking Good! Wayne Class of '59 Reunion

Lisa Allen

Wayne High School "Class of 1959" held their 55th year class reunion on Augusst 15 at Steve Taylor's home in Fremont. Back row l-r are: Karen G. Ellett, Karen S. Ellett, Rhea Casper, Ruth Mills, Lois Taylor, Sharla Ann Chappell, and Evelyn Nielson. Front row l-r are: Merlin Erikson, Robert Brinkerhoff, Steve Taylor, Ben Baker, Clenn Okerlund, and Kay Allen.

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing you can do is keep your mind young. —Mark Twain

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