Washington County Officials in Dreamland About the Northern Corridor

Washington County Officials in Dreamland
About the Northern Corridor

 By Lisa Rutherford

When I listen to local officials talk about the proposed Northern Corridor and its history, I wonder, “what dreamland are you living in?” For those who are new to the area, the Northern Corridor would be a new east-west route to help meet transportation needs. That would be a good thing if UDOT and county officials and planners didn’t want to run it through Red Cliffs National Conservation Area/Reserve. This protected area makes up only four percent of our county. It is dedicated to the protection of threatened and endangered species, including the threatened Mojave desert tortoise, while also providing recreation opportunities. The draft Environmental Impact Statement on the highway and associated matters is out for public comment until September 10 (https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/1502103/570).

I recently listened to a presentation about the DEIS and the transportation alternatives at a city council meeting. The speaker seemed pretty reasonable when he talked about the NC alternatives BLM is considering. He even noted that one option outside Red Cliffs—the Red Hills Parkway Expressway with a flyover to I-15—moves traffic better than UDOT’s preferred NC route would.  However, he then added that he thought it was not legal to review routes outside Red Cliffs.

Let’s be clear. That is incorrect. The 2009 act OPLMA that created Red Cliffs NCA (45,000 acres of the 62,000 Red Cliffs Deseret Reserve) says the BLM must identify one or more routes for a northern corridor “in the county” not “in the NCA/Reserve.” And, “must identify” does not mean “must approve” in Red Cliffs.

The Red Hills Parkway Expressway handles traffic as well as UDOT’s preferred route, and that’s made evident in a chart on page 250 of the DEIS Volume 3: Glossary and Appendices document. Moving traffic is what this highway idea has been about for these fourteen years I’ve been studying it.  But now, apparently, officials don’t like the flyover idea because it would impact already-existing facilities and venues on Red Hills Parkway. This had not stopped the City of St. George in the past when city projects needed the use of governmental power to force changes on private businesses.  Now that the road might impact some of the city’s property, they’re not quite so thrilled. Now that there is a route that would move the traffic better, the “transportation need” seems to be changing to put a focus on other issues.

At the meeting, it was mentioned that the NC through the protected area had been part of the deal ever since Red Cliffs Desert Reserve was established in 1996. Not true! Minutes I have from steering committee meeting minutes in the 90s leading to the Reserve’s creation show, there was never an agreement. And, in 2006, when Senator Bennett and Congressman Matheson were pushing the 2006 Washington County Growth & Conservation Act, Washington County Habitat Conservation Advisory Committee meeting minutes clearly show that a line on a map was never agreed to by the HCAC.  The meeting minutes document reveal that Commissioner Gardner and Mayor McArthur came to the HCAC for approval to place their preferred road alignment on a map and were rejected.

The NC was not approved in the original Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), which says no new roads! Even a Red Cliffs Desert Reserve brochure I have that addresses common questions and which was “funded” by the county answers the question: “Will there be a highway through the middle of the Reserve between St. George City and Washington City? Their answer: “The HCP does not permit a new highway through the Reserve. The recently improved “Red Hills Parkway,” approved as a 4-lane road (also called Skyline Drive or the Northern Corridor), was allowed under the HCP; no others are permitted.”

Now, the county is rewriting the HCP.  Their dreamland “dream” may come true. Officials may very well get their way, but make no mistake: There was no agreement in the past to a road through the protected area. Only Red Hills Parkway expansion and the existing roads such as Turkey Farm (Cottonwood) were allowed. There may have been some backroom discussions, but nothing that supports an NC through the heart of Red Cliffs was documented or agreed to in writing. Now, the perfectly reasonable Red Hills Parkway Expressway alternative outside Red Cliffs—the road (Red Hills Parkway) that the county acknowledged as “the Northern Corridor” in their brochure!—is being rejected by the county.  Oh, and by the way, in the ’90s, when Red Cliffs were established, they knew what our current population would be; population studies made it clear.

Public comments on the highway may be made until September 10. Go to https://conserveswu.org/save-red-cliffs/ to learn how to make comments and tell the BLM, USFWS, Washington County, St. George City, and UDOT to save Red Cliffs and pick the reasonable alternative—Red Hills Parkway Expressway.

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