Piercing the heart of the Red Cliffs NCA/reserve is no solution
An assault on our Red Cliffs NCA/Reserve (RCNCA) — established over 20 years ago for protection of threatened and endangered species, particularly the Mojave desert tortoise — is underway. The RCNCA is a sight to behold in Washington County. Red rock cliffs of varying shades interspersed with areas of gray-green vegetation framed by Pine Valley Mountain in the background offer a visual feast. The largest portion of RCNCA starts just north of St. George providing views that inspire and give us a break from being in the midst of an often too-busy city. But Washington County’s leaders are promoting a bill in Congress that would, on the one hand, expand our RCNCA and remaining reserve while at the same time pierce the heart of RCNCA by building a road through prime habitat — a road that will not satisfy our county’s east-west transportation needs and would cost over $100 million. This unique desert ecosystem is something to be valued and preserved for future residents not destroyed at taxpayer expense.
It seems a classic bait-and-switch tactic: make the public think that something good is being done for the RCNCA (expansion) while in fact harming it (with a road).
For over 20 years the 62,000-acre reserve, most of which is now RCNCA as of 2009, has offered protection in this county for threatened and endangered species in exchange for growth throughout the rest of the county — around 300,000 acres, approximately 12,000 acres of which were also prime habitat and labeled “take” area. The proposed road would run through Zone 3, which makes up the RCNCA’s largest zone and contains what is considered prime tortoise habitat. The road would, as determined by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, violate the terms of the Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). The reserve’s technical committee comprising biologists determined during a review of the revised road alignment that it would still adversely impact critical habitat. The Desert Tortoise Council, which represents tortoise researchers and other experts, is also on record opposing the proposed Northern Corridor/Washington Parkway (NC/WP).
At this week’s March 28 meeting, county leaders will explain and attempt to justify their efforts to expand tortoise habitat while also building the contentious NC/WP. They will describe an area to the west of Bloomington that contains SITLA and BLM land as being the perfect way of mitigating using acres in our existing RCNCA for the road. Tortoise surveys have determined that proposed Zone 6 area does have tortoises but not in the numbers found in Zone 3 in 1999 before fires and drought diminished the numbers. Commissioners will attempt to explain that their efforts to reroute the NC/WP will help to avoid critical habitat, which it will not do. They will explain that there will be a “net benefit” to the tortoise population, but that is not true. By fragmenting Zone 3, more challenges will face the tortoises. Road culverts proposed for their use have not been scientifically proven to be beneficial. In fact, in the Utility Development Protocols document used in conjunction with the HCP, it’s noted that all culverts and pipes should be capped to prevent animals from entering and being trapped. Additional traffic means additional trash for ravens, tortoise predators, and additional fire risk.
If the commissioners and other leaders really stand behind their rhetoric of wanting to preserve the RCNCA and Reserve, as we have so often heard, and if the area now being considered for Zone 6 has tortoises, then that area should be added to the protected area and managed under the Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) without requiring that a road through Zone 3 be built.
Our reserve/RCNCA is the smallest of the six Mojave desert tortoise recovery areas. The HCP’s main purpose is to assist in the recovery of the desert tortoise and other species with four objectives:
—Provide adequate protection for the desert tortoise by implementing aspects of the DTRP through the creation and management of the Upper Virgin River Desert Wildlife Management Area.
—Provide protection for other listed and candidate species and their habitats.
—Meet the growth and development needs of the county.
—Create a framework within the county to deal with current and future listed species.
The commissioners will attempt to make it sound as if the HCP objectives balance threatened/ endangered species’ needs with human needs. They are not balanced. Out of four objectives, three deal with the T/E species; only one addresses growth and development needs of the county. It is crystal clear that the original HCP did not place the county’s growth needs above the needs of the species being protected. It did, however, offer a framework to help the county deal with that growth. The problem is that the county has rejected that position in their planning and prefers to try to force a road that has never been accepted as they work through the renewal process of the HCP.
What is not being included in the discussions I’ve heard so far at county meetings is the future Western Corridor, which will be built very possibly through the proposed Zone 6. What impacts would the Western Corridor have on the proposed Zone 6? What development pressures similar to the current pressures exerted on Zone 3 would exist and be challenging in the future? Where is a detailed budget showing how much the new Zone 6 will cost including its management of current recreational activities, which at this point are not managed? Perhaps these questions will be answered at this week’s meeting. One can only hope.
Even now, Zone 6 has activities that are clearly out of line with activities in the existing Zone 3 area. Grazing permits seem poorly managed in the area and put grazing animals in competition with the tortoise. OHV use is extensive in Zone 6 while clearly regulated in the existing reserve/NCA zones. The existing HCP has nine references to OHV impacts and the need to control. One of the foremost objectives of the HCP is preservation of existing ecological values. The HCP makes it clear that human activities such as grazing, roads and OHV use degrade the ecological values. Will these activities be sufficiently managed to prevent degradation in Zone 6?
Last year, Congressman Stewart ran H.R. 2423 attempting to force the NC/WP in spite of the RCNCA Resource Management Plan rejecting it in 2016. That bill failed to gain footing. Apparently, the congressman and county leaders are revising their game plan and now working on this or new legislation.
St. George is listed as the fastest-growing area in the nation. That brings bad and good. The good news is that growth is strong. Even better news is that population projections are not as high as were projected in 2008. The 860,000 number for 2060 projected in 2008 is now down to 500,000. That’s not to say we won’t face challenges, but with good leadership we can have a workable plan. The county’s own transportation plans reveal that the proposed NC/WP will not solve congestion problems on St. George Boulevard and Bluff Street. With smart transportation planners putting their heads together, a new plan that does not involve ruining our pristine habitat can be developed and should.
The HCP provides developers and associated businesses with a level of certainty as they plan developments within Washington County. Honoring the HCP as it exists, a document that clearly rejects any new roads in the reserve, and which is a ruling document for the 2009 RCNCA is critical to ensuring that the threatened and endangered species for which it was established can be protected. It would also honor the leaders in the ‘90s who created the document after much wrangling and in good faith with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Interested and concerned citizens should attend the meeting March 28 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Dixie Center Entrada Room, located at 1835 S. Convention Center Dr. in St. George.
Articles related to “Piercing the heart of the Red Cliffs NCA/reserve is no solution”
Conservation groups defend Red Cliffs and Beaver Dam Wash National Conservation Areas
