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Thursday, December 5, 2013 • Issue # 1025
Bryce Canyon National Park Announces Alternative Alignments for Multi-Use Visitor Path
BLM to Host Public Scoping Meetings on the GSENM Livestock Grazing Plan Amendment
KANAB - The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) is holding public scoping meetings on December 10, 11, and 12 seeking public input on a Livestock Grazing Monument Management Plan Amendment and Associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will replace existing grazing management decisions and amend the Monument Management Plan. All meetings will run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The December 10 meeting takes place in Kanab, Utah, at the BLM administrative complex located at 669 S. Highway 89A. The December 11 meeting is being held at the Interagency Visitor Center at 755 West Main Street in Escalante, Utah; and the December 12 meeting is at the Salt Lake City Main Library, 210 South 400 North. The meetings will begin with a presentation about the project, followed by an open house. During the open house, the public will have the opportunity to ask BLM and National Park Service (NPS) specialists in attendance about the project. The affected planning area includes all public lands within GSENM and public lands for which GSENM has livestock grazing management responsibility. This includes BLM lands within GSENM and additional lands within portions of the BLM’s Kanab Field Office and the Arizona Strip Field Office as well as lands managed by the National Park Service (NPS) in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Small areas of additional state, municipal, and private lands also border or are contained within the planning area, but are not included in the decision area. The public scoping period for the project began November 4, 2013 and will end January 13, 2014. During this time, the BLM is seeking input to determine relevant issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis, including alternatives, and guide the process for developing the EIS.
You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria in writing to the BLM at any public scoping meeting, or by any of the following methods: • Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Grand StaircaseEscalante National Monument, 669 S. HWY 89-A, Kanab, Utah 84741 • Email: BLM_UT_GS_ EIS@blm.gov • Fax: (435)644-1250 Please reference “GSENM Livestock Grazing Plan Amendment” when submitting comments. To be most helpful, please submit comments before the close of the scoping period. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment – including your personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. BLM will not consider anonymous comments. The minutes and list of attendees for each scoping meeting will be available to the public and open for 30 days after the meeting to any participant who wished to clarify the views he or she expressed. For further information, please contact Matt Betenson, Planning and Support Services Division Chief at (435) 6441205. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to leave a message or question with the above individual. You will receive a reply during normal business hours. —Bureau of Land Management
Garkane Energy’s 2013 Property Tax Payments LOA - Garkane paid $542,553 in property taxes to counties in Utah and Arizona this year. Garkane is an important member of the local community tax base. Taxes paid to each county are as follows: Utah - Total: $462,200.05 Garfield: $151,487.70 Kane: $230,695.09 Piute: $10,987.44 Sevier: $17,990.72 Washington: $11,095.89 Wayne: $39,943.21 Arizona - Total: $80,353.80 Mohave: $54,499.66 Coconino: $25,854.14
Although Garkane Energy is a cooperative, it still pays real estate, personal property, sales, motor vehicle, and gasoline taxes; generally all taxes paid by a for-profit company. Most cooperatives however do not pay federal income taxes because they allocate net income to members in the form of a capital credit refund. This refund was just seen on consumer’s bills for December 2013. For any questions please email nbrown@garkaneenergy.com or call 435-644-5026 —Garkane Energy
REGIONAL Weather forecast Thurs. Nov. 5 - Wed. Dec. 11 COLD! Thursday through Monday highs in the mid teens to low 20s, and lows in the low single digit to minus single digit range. Sunny Thursday/Friday, and then cloudier with possible snow showers over the weekend and into Monday. Warming a little Tuesday and Wednesday, but not by much.
Hickman Bridge Trailhead Reopens CAPITOL REEF N.P. - A significant rockfall occurred at the Hickman Bridge Trailhead off Utah Highway 24 on March 23, 2013. Several hundred tons of material fell, blocking the only trail access to Hickman Bridge. The trailhead was officially closed upon discovery of the rock fall. Due to the size of the rockfall, additional precautions were taken before the trailhead could be reopened. The trailhead has been delineated and the trail has been realigned around the debris pile. This work was accomplished with assistance from the Rocky Mountain National Park trail crew. A portion of a retaining wall just beyond the rockfall was washed out during this seasons flooding in September. Please use caution when hiking through this area. Masonry work will be performed in the spring as warmer temperatures allow. The Hickman Bridge Trail, 2 miles round-trip (3.2 km) is one of the most popular trails in Capitol Reef National Park. This trail provides great views of the reef, Capitol Dome, the spectacular Hickman Bridge and also provides access to the Rim Overlook and Navajo Knobs Trail. Caution is advised while hiking and visiting all locations in canyon country. Inherent dangers exist including rockfall hazard, flash floods, loose footing, and lightning. Stay alert, be aware of hazardous conditions and check with the visitor center staff for additional updates or weather conditions. More information can be found at www.nps.gov/care, facebook.com/CapitolReefNPS, twitter.com/CapitolReefNPS, and at (435) 425-3791. —National Park Service
BRYCE CANYON N.P. In response to input from the public, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), additional cooperating agencies, the Federal Highway Administration, and National Park Service (NPS) staff, Bryce Canyon National Park is pleased to announce the development of preliminary alternatives for the proposed construction of a multi-use visitor path connecting Bryce Canyon City to Bryce Canyon National Park. The two preliminary action alternatives being considered are (1) The Topographic Alignment and (2) The Road Corridor Alignment. These two alternatives vary in the following ways: · Separation distance from Highway 63 and main park roads · Amount of direct access provided to key facilities and connectivity with viewpoints, and · Resource and topographic advantages for construction and accessibility More information about these preliminary alternatives and the process to further refine them is available online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/ brca. Because all action alternatives would connect the path through Dixie National Forest, the USFS is a key partner on this project. Both agencies will collaborate on the development of a forthcoming environmental assessment. The project is also being planned in close coordination with Bryce Canyon City, Garfield County, and Utah Department of Transportation. The construction of the path would aid in addressing traffic congestion and
safety within the park and the adjacent community of Bryce Canyon City. For those that choose to explore the park by non-motorized means, the path would provide visitors with a safe travel alternative from Bryce Canyon City, through adjacent portions of the Dixie National Forest and throughout the Bryce Amphitheater portion of the park. An environmental assessment will be prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The environmental assessment will provide a decision-making framework that analyzes alternatives to meet objectives, to evaluate impacts to park and national forest resources, and to identify measures to lessen the degree or extent of any impacts. A final public comment period will be available when the Multi-Use Path Environmental Assessment is released in 2014. At all stages of this process, public comments are welcome. To assist in development of the project alternatives, please provide your comments on the multi-use path alternative alignments by December 30, 2013. Email brca_information@nps.gov, or mail comments to Bryce Canyon National Park, P.O. Box 640201, Bryce, Utah 84764. Respondents should include their name, address and email to be added to the mailing list for more information about this project. Remember that unless requested otherwise, a list of all those that comment during public review periods, including their addresses, is available upon request. —National Park Service
Teasdale Addiction Counselor Receives Award for Book Addressing New Approach to Recovery by Bob Phillips, Contributing Writer TEASDALE - Alcoholism and addiction continue to take a huge toll in America in spite of the decades-long “war on drugs,” and a new approach is vital if the problem is ever to be successfully addressed at both an individual and societal level, says John Dupuy, a Teasdale-based addiction counselor and author of a new book on the subject. Dupuy’s “Integral Recovery: A Revolutionary Approach to the Treatment of Alcoholism and Addiction,” was recently awarded best book of 2013 on addiction recovery by USA Book News. Dupuy argues that traditional approaches to recovery such as the 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous – while
helping many millions of people recover – need to evolve to encompass modern research and increasing social stresses. Traditional models to addiction recovery have helped many people turn their lives around dramatically, yet the sad reality is that the majority of people who undertake the 12-step program ultimately relapse, Dupuy said in a recent interview. He believes so many fall through the cracks because they fail to address key components of health that then place them at high risk for resuming their addictive behaviors. Dupuy believes that a deeper and more integrated approach is needed that incorporates vital details about brain
health and neurochemistry, physical health, emotional and spiritual health and methods of introspective meditation, along with frequent contact with nature and a viable relationship to the world at large. “What AA affirms is wonderful, people hanging together who want to stay sober,” he said. The methods developed by the organization’s founders in the 1930s – recovering alcoholics (and later addicts) providing mutual support and aid has provided many formerly hopeless individuals with profound new hope and strength for the future, Dupuy noted. Taking responsibility for Recovery
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John Dupuy’s book Integral Recovery offers a model that both includes and transcends the 12-Step approach to addiction recovery.
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