Friday, August 22, 2014

Deal protects land near Book Cliffs, allows other drilling

A long-awaited deal will protect remote southern reaches of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation from development and, at the same time, let the tribe and state partner on oil and gas ventures to the north. While the arrangement was spearheaded by pro-drilling members of Utah’s congressional delegation, environmentalists found much to praise because the agreement safeguards parts of the scenic Book Cliffs inside the reservation from industrial development. Ute tribal leaders plan a Wednesday commemoration of the Hill Creek Cultural Preservation and Energy Development Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law July 25 and which paves the way for the federal-state mineral swap. The law enables the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) to give up mineral rights it holds in the Hill Creek’s southern end in Grand County, a roadless area the tribe intends to protect for its wildlife, scenery and spiritual significance. In exchange for its claim to 18,000 checkerboard acres of minerals, SITLA will get access to an equal number of subsurface acres to the north on the Uintah County portion of the Hill Creek Extension...more

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