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H.C.R. 7

             1     

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON FEDERAL DESIGNATION

             2     
OF CRITICAL HABITAT FOR GUNNISON SAGEGROUSE

             3     
2013 GENERAL SESSION

             4     
STATE OF UTAH

             5     
Chief Sponsor: Michael E. Noel

             6     
Senate Sponsor: David P. Hinkins

             7     
             8      LONG TITLE
             9      General Description:
             10          This concurrent resolution of the Legislature and the Governor urges the United States
             11      Fish and Wildlife Service to exempt or exclude private properties in San Juan County
             12      from designation as critical habitat in the proposed listing of the Gunnison sagegrouse
             13      under the Endangered Species Act.
             14      Highlighted Provisions:
             15          This resolution:
             16          .    strongly urges the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to recognize and protect
             17      private landowner rights and their ability to make viable economic use of their land
             18      by exempting or excluding such private properties in San Juan County from
             19      designation as critical habitat in the proposed listing of the Gunnison sagegrouse
             20      under the Endangered Species Act.
             21      Special Clauses:
             22          None
             23     
             24      Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
             25          WHEREAS, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has announced a
             26      proposal to add the Gunnison sagegrouse in the Gunnison Basin of southwest Colorado and
             27      southeastern Utah, specifically Grand and San Juan Counties in Utah, to the list of species that


             28      are candidates for Endangered Species Act Protection;
             29          WHEREAS, following the USFWS's proposal to list the Gunnison sagegrouse as
             30      endangered under the Endangered Species Act, the agency will designate critical habitat for the
             31      species, which contains the physical and biological features essential to the conservation and
             32      recovery of the species;
             33          WHEREAS, the USFWS has proposed that 1,704,227 acres be designated as critical
             34      habitat in Utah and Colorado;
             35          WHEREAS, in the Monticello area of San Juan County, the USFWS is proposing that
             36      145,500 acres be designated as critical habitat;
             37          WHEREAS, of these proposed acres, 95% are private, 4% are Bureau of Land
             38      Management lands, and 1% are state lands;
             39          WHEREAS, San Juan County has approximately 5.2 million acres, making it the
             40      largest county in the state of Utah;
             41          WHEREAS, the federal government owns, controls, or manages approximately 84% of
             42      the land base within San Juan County, with 2.1 million acres or 41% of that land base being
             43      managed by the Bureau of Land Management;
             44          WHEREAS, the Navajo Reservation makes up approximately 1.2 million acres, or 23%
             45      of the county, while the National Park Service controls 587 acres, or 11% of the county, and
             46      the United States Forest Service manages 450,000 acres, or 9%, of San Juan County;
             47          WHEREAS, the state of Utah has control over 406,000 acres, or 8%, and the Division
             48      of State Parks manages approximately 3,000 acres, or less than 1%, of the county;
             49          WHEREAS, private ownership makes up a fraction of the 5.2 million acres cited above
             50      for a total of 406,000, or just under 8%, of county land ownership;
             51          WHEREAS, according to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, San Juan County has 758
             52      farms and ranches covering 1,546,914 acres, including private, state, and federal lands, for an
             53      average farm and ranch size of 2,041 acres;
             54          WHEREAS, according to the same census, San Juan County farmers and ranchers
             55      raised and sold $10,299,000 in crop and livestock commodities;
             56          WHEREAS, the proposed area of critical habitat designation has a high potential for oil
             57      and gas development, and private landowners have leased their mineral rights for millions of
             58      dollars;


             59          WHEREAS, the result of the proposed listing of the Gunnison sagegrouse and the
             60      accompanying designation of critical habitat will negatively impact approximately 35% of the
             61      private property base in the Monticello area of San Juan County, potentially jeopardizing these
             62      landowners' ability to generate millions of dollars in products and jobs critical to the survival of
             63      the residents of rural San Juan County;
             64          WHEREAS, under Section 4 of the Endangered Species Act, the secretary of the United
             65      States Department of the Interior may exclude habitat from designation based on economic
             66      impact;
             67          WHEREAS, under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the USFWS must prepare a regulator
             68      flexibility analysis describing the effects of the proposed rule on small entities, including small
             69      businesses, such as farm and ranch operations, and small government jurisdictions; and
             70          WHEREAS, Executive Order 12630, titled Governmental actions and interference with
             71      constitutionally protected private property rights, states that the USFWS must analyze the
             72      potential implications of designating critical habitat in a takings assessment:
             73          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
             74      Governor concurring therein, strongly urges the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to
             75      recognize and protect private landowner rights and their ability to make viable economic use of
             76      their land by exempting or excluding private properties in San Juan County from designation as
             77      critical habitat in the proposed listing of the Gunnison sagegrouse under the Endangered
             78      Species Act.
             79          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the San Juan
             80      County Commission, the Grand County Commission, the United States Fish and Wildlife
             81      Service, the San Juan County Chamber of Commerce, the Grand County Chamber of
             82      Commerce, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the secretary of the United States
             83      Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Land Management, and the members of Utah's
             84      congressional delegation.




Legislative Review Note
    as of 2-14-13 5:19 PM


Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel


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