S. Utah officials push land swap to pave way for highway across Red Cliffs Desert Reserve

To make headway on long-debated plans to build a "Northern Corridor" highway across the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, Washington County officials are proposing a deal with the federal government: Swap over the public lands needed to accommodate the road, and they'll expand a separate piece of the reserve on the other side of St. George.

It's a proposal already being criticized by conservation and environmental protection groups who are alleging a bait-and-switch tactic to overturn federal protections for the threatened Mojave desert tortoise and other sensitive species on the reserve.

But county officials are calling it a "win-win," balancing the demands to preserve habitat and accommodate key infrastructure.

To do it, county officials are hashing out legislation with members of Utah's congressional delegation, with a draft bill expected to be ready for an open house meeting in St. George on Wednesday.

That meeting, scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Dixie Center, will give members of the public a chance to weigh in before any legislation is finalized, County Commissioner Dean Cox said.

"We've been developing these ideas, and want the public to get an opportunity to talk to us and share their own responses," Cox said.

The legislation would carve out about 150 acres of the existing reserve north of St. George to make way for the northern corridor, which county planners have dubbed "Washington Parkway," and ease restrictions in the reserve for utility lines, Cox said.

At the same time, it would expand the 62,000-acre reserve by some 7,000 acres by adding a swath of land generally south of Santa Clara and west of Bloomington, where tortoise populations have been surveyed, Cox said. He added the legislation would also grant a 25-year renewal of the expired Habitat Conservation Plan that allows the county to manage the reserve.

"We feel this is an amazing win-win for the residents of Washington County," he said.

A years-long contest

Elected officials in the area have fought for years to build a highway across the reserve, with planners arguing it is needed to stave off major road congestion expected to come with population growth and new development projected in and around St. George.

The St. George metro area was listed as the fastest-growing in the U.S. in new Census estimates released earlier this month. State population projections forecast the county to grow from an estimated 165,000 today to nearly 200,000 by 2020 — and to nearly twice that by 2040.

The roadway would have to pass through publicly-owned federal lands overlaid with multiple layers of environmental protection, though, including the multi-governmental Red Cliffs reserve and a designated National Conservation Area.

In late 2016, the Bureau of Land Management released new management plans for the area that made construction of the highway seem unlikely, with rules that required that any roadway or other utility project not adversely affect sensitive habitat.

Tom Butine, board president with Conserve Southwest Utah, a local advocacy group, said he felt a land swap would defeat the purpose of the reserve, which was intended as a protected environment for the tortoise and other species. If there is a healthy population of tortoises in the other area and it could be included in the reserve, Butine said he would welcome the expansion, but not at the price of splitting the main portion of the reserve with a four-lane road.

"We don't buy this as a trade," he said. "To us, they're relying on flimsy evidence."

The county has pointed to a 2012 multigovernmental study that concluded the parkway might actually help the tortoise population if built correctly.

The authors indicated that a well-managed road could promote more biological diversity if it included culverts that would allow tortoises to cross from one side of the road to the other, enable the establishment of a satellite reserve to replace lost habitat, increase surveillance of the reserve and utilize the road as a fire break.

But there was disagreement about that finding among members of the multistate Desert Tortoise Council, and the paper was not peer-reviewed or published as academic research. It was not considered as part of the BLM's planning processes.

Another try at legislation

Both of Utah's U.S. senators, Republicans Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee, have been consulted on the drafting of legislation, according to county officials, as have U.S. Reps. Chris Stewart and Rob Bishop.

Stewart introduced a bill last year that would have ordered federal agencies to allow the route. It received a favorable recommendation from the House Natural Resources Committee, which Bishop chairs, but has not been considered by the full House.

Cox said the hope is to get legislation passed, but the county would pursue its plan regardless, saying there has already been progress made administratively to work toward the same goals.

The county’s long-range transportation plan recommends $5 million be set aside for environmental study on the roadway sometime before 2025, with actual construction needed sometime between 2025 and 2034. The plan estimates the first phase of building the parkway would cost $47 million. Another $47 million is outlined in the next phase of spending between 2035 and 2040, along with $10 million to build a larger interchange between the highway and its connection with Red Hills Parkway in St. George.

The highway is projected to carry as many as 32,000 vehicles per day by 2040, more than St. George Boulevard carries daily today.

Follow David DeMille on Twitter, @SpectrumDeMille, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SpectrumDeMille. Call him at 435-674-6261.

READ MORE:

Stewart’s ‘Northern Corridor’ bill clears hurdle

Opinion: Why Northern Corridor demands your attention

Opinion: Washington County won't risk tortoise habitat for Northern Corridor

If you go

What: Open house on the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve

When: Wednesday, 5 to 7 p.m.

Where: Dixie Center, 1835 S. Convention Center Drive, St. George.