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Utah Attacks Alpine Wilderness in Western Utah
AN ALPINE GEM. Rising nearly a mile and half in
elevation above the desert floor, the Deep Creek Mountains are Utah’s
most spectacular West Desert Range. The area is typified by glacially
scarred peaks, alpine meadows, and forested canyons. The tremendous
vertical relief creates a variety of ecological conditions that foster
biological diversity unmatched in Utah’s desert mountains. Recognizing
the area’s tremendous environmental values, BLM designated nearly
60,000 acres of the range as the Deep Creek Mountains Wilderness Study
Area in 1991, closing a number of rough jeep trails in the area.
Further, a 3,000-acre area of the Deep Creeks known as Scott’s Basin,
formerly in private ownership, was purchased by The Nature Conservancy
to protect the area’s natural values, and became part of the WSA in
1993. The imperiled Bonneville cutthroat trout -- Utah's official
state fish -- can be found in Trout Creek and Tom's Creek. For more
background on the Deep Creek Mountains, check out the
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and
The Nature Conservancy
.
UTAH'S ATTACK. The thought of the Deep Creeks being
preserved for future generations of Utahns to enjoy in a natural state
was apparently too much for the State of Utah. On August 25, 2005, the
state filed suit in federal district court in Utah alleging that
routes up three drainages -- Trout Creek, Granite Creek, and Tom's
Creek -- were "constructed highways." See the state's
complaint and
press release. BLM was apparently angered by the suit, and said
so. Conservationists panned the suit as well. See the
Salt Lake Tribune article
of August 26, 2005.
See a
map of the claims cutting into the wilderness study area.
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