Should Cleveland-Lloyd dino quarry be a monument?

By PATSY STODDARD Editor

Emery County Public Lands council will host a public information and input meeting on Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. at the county building. The idea has been discussed and explored to seek federal designation for the current area of the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry. Discussions have taken place with Cong. Jason Chaffetz office and the public lands council.
The Bureau of Land Management currently operates the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry. Surrounding areas to the quarry are open for ATV use and grazing. An advisory council would be set up for the quarry as part of the designation if it’s approved.
The county is currently involved in the public lands initiative with several other counties and sponsored by Cong. Rob Bishop in conjunction with Cong. Jason Chaffetz and his office working on the bill which has yet to be presented in Congress. This possible designation for the quarry would be part of the current public lands initiative.
Public lands consultant to the county Randy Johnson told the public lands council they should present the idea to the Emery County Commission for their input. Johnson said this idea makes sense. Public perception is very important and a public information meeting should be held to discuss what is being proposed. Grazers have met for field trips to the area so their concerns could be addressed. A small acreage of 770 acres is involved. Lands council member Ed Geary said a designation would be one way to get the quarry the recognition it deserves as well as increase revenues and visitorship to the quarry. Other areas without as many resources as the quarry receive more recognition. Public lands chairman Mistie Christiansen said a congressionally designated monument is different than a monument by presidential decree. The quarry is an area of critical environmental concern and the surrounding area is a special recreation management area. The BLM drew these spots on the map. A designation could clearly take what’s there and make common sense of boundaries and uses. The grazers have been consulted, but the recreationalists haven’t been contacted yet. Johnson said things must be finalized before September. He said it’s critical everyone understand what’s going on. Before anything goes before the public it should be presented to the commission. Officials out to the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur quarry have been supportive of the idea. Sherrel Ward, lands council member said we need to make sure the advisory council would be made up of grazers and also ATV users as the management is set up. The council recommended they ask the commission to consider the idea of designation for the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry and protect current uses. Where the idea goes after that is in the hands of the commissioners. One positive aspect of designation could be increased revenues through visitorship and possible federal funds. Improvements to the road accessing the quarry might also be part of the positive impacts. The open public meeting will be held so residents can make any comments concerning the idea. Commissioner Ethan Migliori said he learned of the idea of Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry designation about a month ago. He’s not sure where the original idea came from, but they’ve slowly been putting out feelers to see if people think it’s a good or bad idea. He said from those he’s talked to the idea is well received. It’s far from being a done deal. Meetings with grazers have been held and their concerns addressed. “The footprint is the same as what the BLM AC/EC is currently. It’s not expanding or decreasing. It would be a draw for this side of the county. There’s a lot of interest in the dinosaur diamond and it draws more tourists to our area. There are a lot of wins to it (quarry idea). “This makes sense. A lot of proposed designations over the years have not,” said Commissioner Migliori.