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Show Personal Background Although I am living in Wisconsin, now, I stayed In Utah all last year, through support from family, relatives, friends, and people providing me housing, so that I could work on a High Uintas Wilderness proposal under RARE II and eventually concentrate on the CUP. I am Co-Founder and National Co-Chairman of Citizens for a Responsible CUP. This group was formed as a coalition of Trout Unlimited, member clubs of the Federation of Fly Fishermen, and Utah Audubon Society representatives. Until CRCUP was formed, there had been no coordinated effort to either modify or to try to stop at present development, the CUP, although Individuals have tried for years to obtain adequate stream flows on the Uinta Range and to prevent diking of Utah Lake. My actions to bring into focus individual concerns and actions, stemmed from many consultations with professional biologists, hydrologlsts, botanists, limnologlsts, fisheries and wildlife specialists on management staffs In State and Federal Agencies and in Universities in Utah. The persisting concerns of these people on behalf of Utah's aquatic ' and terrestrial wildlife resources attests to the courage and tenacity of such people and to the vitality of the field of wildlife management today. My presence in Utah last year stemmed from field work I carried out in two entire summers (1973-197*0 on the Uinta Range National Forest roadless areas for wilderness classification purposes, a fund raising effort I undertook to support a Utah State University habitat study for Wasatch Forest on the Uintas North Slope* and research I made in 1976 on impending impacts on wildlife habitat on public lands and rivers in northeast Utah from proposed oil shale development. Since I fully share the belief of many wildlife professionals In Utah that many habitat features in this region are unique, and need to be carefully considered in all region developments, I have pushed Agencies, appeared as a lone wildlife advocate at hearings, provided environmental groups with resource information, demanded concern from the Administration and specifically from Secretary Andrus and the Bureau of Reclamation* urged Governor Matheson to protect the State Roadless Area In the Book Cliffs and Its wildlife resources (unsuccessfully)Jete- I spent six weeks setting up a May 11, 1978 meeting In Salt Lake City between Secretary Andrus' Denver Representative and resource specialists from Northern Arizona and Utah Universities, Federal Agencies and concerned citizens - to present our concerns. Although this meeting was jettisoned by either the BuRec or the Water Conservancy District (who weren't invited) - the message got through. It was largely through our efforts that the BuRec was finally compelled to deal with mitigation of stream and habitat impacts. The formation of CRCUP and publication of our Issues Paper #1 resulted from our frustration at not having wildlife resources seriously addressed. * ? *i«- |
