BLM seeks comment on plan to sell Washington County parcels, purchase land in NCA, wilderness areas

Sign marking the entrance to Red Cliffs National Conservation Area with the Adams House on the bottom left and the Cordura movie set bottom right, Red Cliffs NCA, Utah, Oct. 20, 2017 | Photo by Reuben Wadsworth, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The Bureau of Land Management St. George Field Office is seeking public comment on a proposal to sell two parcels of public land located near Virgin and St. George. Comment will be accepted at an open house on June 4 in Virgin, as well as by mail and online until June 19.

According to a press release from the BLM, the parcels are identified as available for disposal in the St. George Resource Management Plan as amended and would be offered under the competitive sale process.

The purpose of the proposed sale is to dispose of lands that are difficult and uneconomical to manage and to purchase private inholdings from willing sellers in the designated wilderness areas managed by the BLM in Washington County and in the Beaver Dam Wash and Red Cliffs national conservation areas.

The parcel near Virgin is 70 acres in size, and the parcel near St. George is 10 acres.

The BLM will host an open house from 6-8 p.m. on June 4 at the Virgin Town Hall, located at 114 S. Mill St. in Virgin, to discuss the scope of the analysis and issues for consideration on the proposed land sale. The public is encouraged to attend to ask questions and provide comments about the draft plans.

Analysis of the proposal will be documented in an environmental assessment. The BLM seeks to inform interested and affected parties of the proposal and to solicit comments to assist with the National Environmental Policy Act review.

Comments received in response to this request will be used to identify potential issues related to the proposed action and to identify alternatives that meet the purpose and need for the proposal.

In addition to the open house, written comments will be accepted by mail or electronically until June 19. Please note that the most useful comments are those that contain new technical or scientific information relevant to the proposed action. Comments should be as specific as possible. Comments that contain only opinions or preferences will not receive a formal response but may be considered in the BLM decision-making process. Please reference “Land Sale” when submitting comments.

To comment by mail, send a letter to the following address:

BLM St. George Field Office
Attn: Shawnna Dao, Realty Specialist
345 East Riverside Drive
St. George, Utah 84790

For more information on the proposed sale or to comment electronically, please visit the BLM ePlanning webpage.

Before including your address, phone number, email address or other personal identifying information in your comment, be advised that your entire comment, including your personal identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask in your comment to withhold from public review your personal identifying information, the BLM cannot guarantee it will be able to do so.

All submissions from organizations and businesses and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses will be available for public inspection in their entirety.

For additional information, please contact Shawnna Dao at 435-688-3326. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to leave a message or question for the above individual. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Replies are provided during normal business hours.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

 

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!