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Discord From Lawmakers At Mountain Accord Hearing

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Mountain Accord
Supporters of the Mountain Accord, which manages areas of the Wasatch Mountains pictured here, encountered some friction from lawmakers at a congressional hearing on Tuesday.

The Mountain Accord is a plan for protecting the canyons outside the state's most populated county. But the local management plan ran into national politics Tuesday as the coalition behind the Mountain Accord delivered a unified pitch to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Federal Lands.

“You had more than 200 stakeholders over a couple of years come to a broad bipartisan support for this bill,” said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, sponsor of a bill that takes the next steps to implement the lands plan.

“We happen to live in Utah – particularly Utah’s Third Congressional District – one of the most beautiful places on the planet.”

Chaffetz was flanked by two mayors, Sandy Republican Tom Dolan and Salt Lake City Democrat Jackie Biskupski. The U.S. Forest Service, a ski resort executive, a transportation leader and a conservationist – they all praised legislation that allows land exchanges, fixes wilderness boundaries and offers a path forward to clear up frequent traffic jams.

But Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., openly doubted the compromise. He blamed “liberal” conservationists for a history of bad deals.

“The concessions were all to environmentalists, were all enshrined in the bill,” he said, challenging Chaffetz. “Everything else was a promise that we found out wasn’t kept.”

McClintock wondered aloud if Mountain Accord backers would wind up like those who supported a 2009 Utah lands bill.

“The local government officials all say, ‘We were screwed,’ because that’s what happened in St. George.”

The Mountain Accord bill -- formally called the Central Wasatch National Conservation and Recreation Area Act -- has to pass both chambers to become law, but there are just a few working days left before the current congressional session ends. And it’s not clear whether committee members have changes in mind for the bill.

Judy Fahys has reported in Utah for two decades, covering politics, government and business before taking on environmental issues. She loves covering Utah, where petroleum-pipeline spills, the nation’s radioactive legacy and other types of pollution provide endless fodder for stories. Previously, she worked for the Salt Lake Tribune in Utah, and reported on the nation’s capital for States News Service and the Scripps League newspaper chain. She is a longtime member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors. She also spent an academic year as a research fellow in the Knight Science Journalism program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In her spare time, she enjoys being out in the environment, especially hiking, gardening and watercolor painting.
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