Utah Timber Agricultural Commodity Zones established -- Findings -- Management and land use priorities.
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(1) There are established and designated Utah Timber Agricultural Commodity Zones for the purpose of:
(a) preserving and protecting the agricultural timber, logging, and forest products industry within these zones from ongoing threats;
(b) preserving and protecting the significant history, culture, customs, and economic value of the agricultural timber, logging, and forest products industry within these zones from ongoing threats; and
(c) maximizing efficient and responsible restoration, reclamation, preservation, enhancement, and development of timber, logging, and forest products and affected natural, historical, and cultural activities within these zones, in order to protect and preserve these zones from ongoing threats.
(2) The titles, land area, and boundaries of these zones are described as follows:
(a) "Tushar Mountain Region Timber Zone," consisting of certain Forest Service lands in the following townships in Beaver County and Piute County, as more fully illustrated in the map jointly prepared by the Beaver and Piute counties GIS departments in February 2014, entitled "Tushar Mountain Region Timber Zone":
(i) in Beaver County, Township 28S Range 4W, Township 29S Range 4W, Township 27S Range 5W, Township 28S Range 5W, Township 29S Range 5W, Township 30S Range 5W, Township 26S Range 6W, Township 27S Range 6W, Township 28S Range 6W, Township 29S Range 6W, and Township 30S Range 6W; and
(ii) in Piute County, Township 26S Range 6W, Township 27S Range 6W, Township 26S Range 5W, Township 27S Range 5W, Township 28S Range 5W, Township 29S Range 5W, Township 30S Range 5W, Township 26S Range 4.5W, Township 26S Range 4W, Township 28S Range 4W, Township 29S Range 4W, and Township 30S Range 4W;
(b) "Panguitch Lake Region Timber Zone," consisting of certain Forest Service lands situated in the following townships in Iron, Kane, and Garfield counties, as more fully illustrated in the map jointly prepared by the Iron, Kane, and Garfield counties GIS departments in February 2014, entitled "Panguitch Lake Region Timber Zone":
(i) in Iron County, Township 34S Range 7W, Township 35S Range 8W, Township 36S Range 8W, Township 36S Range 9W (excluding Cedar Breaks National Monument and Ashdown Wilderness Area), Township 37S Range 8W, and Township 37S Range 9W;
(ii) in Kane County, Township 38S Range 9W, Township 38S Range 8W, Township 38S Range 7W, Township 38S Range 6W, Township 39S Range 8W, Township 39S Range 7W, and Township 39S Range 6W; and
(iii) in Garfield County, Township 35S Range 7W, Township 35S Range 6W, Township 36S Range 7W, Township 36S Range 6W, Township 37S Range 7W, and Township 37S Range 6W;
(c) "Monroe Mountain Region Timber Zone," consisting of certain Forest Service lands in the following townships in Piute County, as more fully illustrated in the map prepared by the Piute County GIS department in February 2014, entitled "Monroe Mountain Region Timber Zone": Township 26S Range 3W, Township 27S Range 2.5W, Township 28S Range 2.5W, Township 29S Range 2.5W, Township 26S Range 2W, Township 27S Range 2W, Township 28S Range 2W, Township 29S Range 2W, Township 26S Range 1W, and Township 7S Range 1W;
(d) "Boulder Mountain Region Timber Zone," consisting of certain Forest Service lands situated in the following townships in Wayne and Garfield counties, as more fully illustrated in the map jointly prepared by the Wayne and Garfield counties GIS departments in February 2014, entitled "Boulder Mountain Region Timber Zone":
(i) in Wayne County, Township 30S Range 3E, Township 30S Range 4E, and Township 30S Range 5E; and
(ii) in Garfield County, Township 31S Range 1E, Township 31S Range 2E, Township 31S Range 3E, Township 32S Range 2E, Township 32S Range 3E, Township 32S Range 4E, Township 33S Range 3E, Township 33S Range 4E, Township 30 1/2S Range 5E, Township 31S Range 5E, Township 31S Range 6E, Township 32S Range 5E, and Township 32S Range 6E;
(e) "Thousand Lake Region Timber Zone," consisting of certain Forest Service lands in the following townships in Wayne County, as more fully illustrated in the map prepared by the Wayne County GIS department in February 2014, entitled "Thousand Lake Region Timber Zone": Township 26S Range 4E, Township 27S Range 4E, and Township 28S Range 4E;
(f) "Millers Flat Region Timber Zone," consisting of certain Forest Service lands situated in the following townships in Sanpete County, as more fully illustrated in the map prepared by the Sanpete County GIS department in February 2014, entitled "Millers Flat Region Timber Zone": Township 16S Range 5E, Township 17S Range 5E, Township 17S Range 4E, and Township 17S Range 6E;
(g) "East Fork Timber Zone," consisting of certain Forest Service lands situated in the following townships in Garfield and Kane counties, as more fully illustrated in the map jointly prepared by the Garfield and Kane counties GIS departments in February 2014, entitled "East Fork Region Timber Zone":
(i) in Garfield County, Township 36S Range 4 1/2W, Township 36S Range 4W, Township 37S Range 5W, Township 37S Range 4 1/2W, and Township 37S Range 4W; and
(ii) in Kane County, Township 38S Range 5W, Township 38S Range 4.5W, Township 39S Range 5W, and Township 39S Range 4.5W;
(h) "Upper Valley Timber Zone," consisting of certain Forest Service lands situated in the following townships in Garfield County, as more fully illustrated in the map prepared by the Garfield County GIS department in February 2014, entitled "Upper Valley Region Timber Zone": Township 34S Range 1W, Township 35S Range 1W, Township 35S Range 1E, Township 36S Range 1W, Township 36S Range 1E, and Township 37S Range 1E;
(i) "Iron Springs Timber Zone," consisting of certain Forest Service lands situated in the following townships in Garfield County, as more fully illustrated in the map prepared by the Garfield County GIS department in February 2014, entitled "Iron Springs Region Timber Zone": Township 32S Range 1E, Township 33S Range 1W, Township 33S Range 1E, and Township 34S Range 1W; and
(j) "Dutton Timber Zone," consisting of certain Forest Service lands situated in the following townships in Garfield County, as more fully illustrated in the map prepared by the Garfield County GIS department in February 2014, entitled "Dutton Region Timber Zone": Township 32S Range 3W, Township 32S Range 2W, Township 33S Range 3W, and Township 33S Range 2W.
(3) Printed copies of the maps referenced in Subsection (2) shall be available for inspection by the public at the offices of the Utah Association of Counties.
(4) The state finds with respect to the zones described in Subsection (2) that:
(a) agricultural timber, logging, and forest product industries on the lands comprising these timber zones have provided a significant contribution to the history, customs, culture, economy, welfare, and other values of each area for many decades;
(b) abundant natural and vegetative resources exist within these zones to support and expand continued, responsible timber, logging, and other forest product activities;
(c) agricultural timber, logging, and forest product activities in these zones, and the associated historic resources, human history, shaping of human endeavors, variety of cultural resources, landmarks, structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest are worthy of recognition, preservation, and protection;
(d)
(i) the highest management priority for lands within these zones is maintenance and promotion of forest and vegetation ecosystem health achieved by responsible active management in development of historic, existing, and future timber, logging, and forest product resources in order to provide protection for the resources, objects, customs, culture, and values identified above; and
(ii) notwithstanding Subsection (4)(d)(i), if part or all of any zone lies within a sage grouse management area, then the management priorities for such part shall be consistent with the management priorities set forth in Subsection (4)(d)(i) to the maximum extent consistent with the management priorities of the sage grouse management area;
(e) subject to Subsection (4)(d)(ii), responsible development of any deposits of energy and mineral resources, including oil, natural gas, oil shale, oil sands, coal, phosphate, gold, uranium, and copper, as well as areas with wind and solar energy potential, that may exist in these zones is compatible with the management priorities of Subsection (4)(d)(i) in these zones; and
(f) subject to Subsection (4)(d)(ii), responsible development of any recreation resources, including wildlife, roads, campgrounds, water resources, trails, OHV use, sightseeing, canyoneering, hunting, fishing, trapping, and hiking resources that may exist in these timber zones is compatible with the management priorities of Subsection (4)(d)(i) in these timber zones.
(5) The state finds that the historic levels of timber, logging, and forest products activities in the zones described in Subsection (2) have greatly diminished, or are under serious threat, due to:
(a) unreasonable, arbitrary, and unlawfully restrictive federal management policies, including:
(i) de facto managing for wilderness in nonwilderness areas;
(ii) ignoring the multiple use sustained yield mission of the Forest Service;
(iii) ignoring the fact that the Forest Service's parent agency is the United States Department of Agriculture whose mission includes providing timber as an important agriculture resource; and
(iv) the arbitrary administrative reductions in timber, logging, and forest products activities;
(b) improper management of forest vegetation resulting in the overcrowding of old growth alpine species and the crowding out of aspen diversity, all of which results in:
(i) devastation of entire mountainsides due to insect infestation and disease;
(ii) reduced water yield;
(iii) increased catastrophic wildfire;
(iv) increased soil erosion;
(v) degradation of wildlife habitat; and
(vi) suppression and threatened extinction of important rural economic activities; and
(c) other practices that degrade overall forest health.
(6) To protect and preserve against the threats described in Subsection (5), the state supports the following with respect to the zones described in Subsection (2):
(a) efficient and responsible development, within each timber zone, of:
(i) robust timber thinning and harvesting programs and activities; and
(ii) other uses compatible with increased timber, logging, and forest product activities, including a return to historic levels of timber, logging, and forest product activity in each of these zones;
(b) a cooperative management approach by federal agencies, the state, and local governments to achieve broadly supported management plans for the full development, within each timber zone, of:
(i) forest product resources; and
(ii) other uses compatible with timber activities; and
(c) effective and responsible management of wildlife habitat.
(7) The state requests that the federal agencies that administer lands within each timber zone:
(a) fully cooperate and coordinate with the state and the respective counties within which each timber zone is situated to develop, amend, and implement land and resource management plans and implement management decisions that are consistent with the purposes, goals, and policies described in this section to the maximum extent allowed under federal law;
(b) expedite the processing, granting, and streamlining of logging and forest product harvesting permits, range improvements, and applications to enhance and otherwise develop existing and permitted timber resources located within each timber zone, including renewable vegetative resources;
(c) expedite stewardship programs to allow private enterprise to carry out the timber, logging, and forest activities described in this section;
(d) allow continued maintenance and increased development of roads, power lines, pipeline infrastructure, and other utilities necessary to achieve the goals, purposes, and policies described in this section and consistent with multiple use and sustained yield principles;
(e) refrain from any planning decisions and management actions that will undermine, restrict, or diminish the goals, purposes, and policies for each timber zone as stated in this section; and
(f) subject to Subsection (4)(d)(ii), refrain from implementing a policy that is contrary to the goals and purposes described within this section.
(8)
(a) The state recognizes the importance of all areas on BLM and Forest Service lands high value lumber and forest product resources but establishes the special Timber Agricultural Commodity Zones to provide special protection and preservation against the identified threats found in Subsection (5) to exist in these zones.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to designate additional Timber Agricultural Commodity Zones in future years, if circumstances warrant special protection and preservation for new zones.
(9) The state calls upon applicable federal, state, and local agencies to coordinate with each other and establish applicable intergovernmental standing commissions, with membership consisting of representatives from the United States government, the state, and local governments to coordinate and achieve consistency in planning decisions and management actions in the zones described in Subsection (2).
(10) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, and subject to Subsection (4)(d)(ii), the state's mineral, oil, gas, and energy policies, as well as its grazing policies, on land within zones described in Subsection (2), shall continue to be governed by Sections 63L-11-302, 63L-11-303, and 63J-8-104.