HOME
CASTLETON TOWER PRESERVATION INITIATIVE
CTPI History
Brochure
Letters to SITLA
If youd like to voice your opinion that SITLA owned lands in Castle Valley should remain open, wild and free, please write a letter to:
Ruland Gill
Chair, Board of Directors
State Trust Lands Administration
675 East 500 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84102
Please e-mail or snail-mail us a copy of your letter for our records. You can find our addresses at the bottom of this page. Thanks!
Here are some points you may wish to emphasize in your letter:
1) WATERSHED PROTECTION
Castle Valleys watershed has been designated by the EPA as a sole source aquifer. Both the quality and the quantity of this pristine water need protection from upstream development.
2) WILDLIFE HABITAT
The entire SITLA-owned property in Castle Valley is critical winter range for 1/3 of the La Sal Mountain deer herd
3) VIEWSHED PROTECTION
92% of Grand Countys revenue is derived from tourism. Castleton Tower and other icons familiar to Americans from movies, calendars, and books need protection from the visual damage of development.
4) TRANSPORTATION
Castle Valley is served mainly by UT Hwy 128, a narrow, 2-lane road sandwiched between the Colorado River and adjacent cliffs. This road is already overused by tourists, Castle Valley commuters, river companies and ranch resort service traffic, resulting in above-average fatalities. Doubling the population of Castle Valley would severely tax the existing infrastructure.
Here are some examples of letters written by concerned community members.
Ruland Gill
Chair, Board of Trustees, School & Institutional Trust Lands
675 E. 500 So. #500,
Salt Lake City UT 84102
Greetings and good wishes.
I am writing as a Castle Valley resident about my life on this very beautiful high desert slope. I have been working for the last two years as a member of the Castle Rock Collaboration to see if we can protect the upper valley from developments that would remove the peaceful quiet that drew me here and keeps me here. I have appreciated the chance to work cooperatively with Trust staff members, and I sincerely believe we can find a way to protect the open land and its creatures while at the same time meeting Trust Lands goal of a reasonable and fair profit. In Castle Valley we continue to search for a way we can all win.
I discovered CV after a three-year search, at 53. I had considered other places in the southwest and stopped to live in many of them for short periods. But here is where I was drawn, first by the people, but little by little as I got to know the land in all its seasons, more irresistibly by the open stretches, open skies, critters and other growing thingsand a certain powerful sweetness that pervades this place.
It is now 15 years later, and Ive learned other things: it takes a certain toughness to survive here. Thats why Ive come to admire and respect (even emulate in my better moments) the tenacity of the wild things growing here. It takes a willingness to make do and to give up control, because only nature is in control here. One adapts, like the stones whose sharp edges are slowly smoothed away. After fires, floods, plagues, countless failings of water, electricity, and machinery, after furious winds that (for weeks at a time) slam dust into every crevice of home and body, blowing away what isnt fastened down, scouring everything (everyone) else, Im still here. I continue to be shaped by this place. In exchange I get see it in all its moods and be lifted by it when I need support.
Life here is tenuous, delicately balanced between survival tactics and slaphappy contentment. Its hard to make a living, inconvenient, very isolated and isolating, but it is my home and I love it fiercely. Please, please, PLEASE continue to help us reach agreement that will be fair to the Trust and fair to all the children now and in the future who can learn about beauty and wonder and peace in wild places like this.
I ask it sincerely,
Cris Coffey
August 14, 2001
SITLA
Board of Directors
675 E 500 S
SLC, UT 84102
To whom it may concem:
I am writing you to state my concerns regarding the potential We of School Trust Lands adjacent to the Town of Castle Valley, UT. As you are aware, there has been a lengthy and involved planning process put in motion to involve all parties concerned with these lands. As a resident of Castle Valley, I am pleased to see that both local residents and SITLA are invested in this planning process. My feeling toward the eventual fate of the area surrounding the Town of Castle Valley is not solely connected to economic concerns, it is also connected to many other values that are just as important. While these values are also tied in several ways to economic concerns, they also stand apart from pure economics. This is due to the fact that they provide a balanced quality that can't be measured by money but by how they positively affect everything in this valley; residents, visitors, wildlife, and the land itself. I am concerned about the loss of what is left of this balance.
I would like to list several items that I think you should consider before you make any final decisions concerning State School Trust Lands in Castle Valley.
1) Water quality is a major concern of all who live in this valley. Ground water wells presently supply drinking water to many residents and some grow a substantial amount of their food with this water. Septic tanks are used to treat sewage, typically one per occupied residence. Additional development "I only further impact the quality of the water via both surface and underground contamination, this fact cannot be denied. Potential contamination also ultimately affects those that are downstream of Castle Valley. Approximately half of the lots in the valley are presently occupied, this means that there will be twice as many wells and septic tanks sometime in the future. There is a limit to the use of this valley's aquifer as there is to all aquifers. It has been suggested that a municipal water/sewer system could mitigate these problems and allow further development. The costs associated with such a system would be so great that most present residents would be forced to sell and move, myself included. Most residents of the valley have already invested a large amount of money in their own water systems. It's time that we start to realize the consequence of our actions with respect to water supply and quality.
2) Wildlife habitat is present for many species that live in and move through the valley. The most noticeable species is mule doer. Much of this area has been recognized as critical winter habitat for the La Sal doer herd In addition to providing balance to the other fauna of the ecosystem, this deer herd provides local/regional economic benefit in the form of hunting. I would like to see efforts made to preserve this habitat for deer and other species. I understand that it is possible to trade School State Trust Lands to the Utah DWR;. I urge you to explore the possibilities here. While deer herds are generally of the greatest concern to most, the health of all other species and plants is quite important as all these elements are interconnected in the well being of the overall ecosystem. Ultimately, it would be of great benefit to see some type of reclaimatio0n/stewardship work take place within these habitat areas as they were heavily grazed by cattle in the past
3) Traffic capacity on UT Highway 128 ( also locally known as "the river road7') is another important factor with respect to further development in Castle Valley. HWY 128 is a narrow, two lane road which lies close to the banks of the Colorado River in many places between Moab and Castle Valley. It is presently recognized as a dangerous roadway where an above average number of auto accidents occur each year. This roadway is presently heavily traveled by both Moab and Castle Valley residents, river-tout companies, resort guests and employees, cyclists, and motor tourists. Congestion along this route is quite common during all but the winter months. Due to the nature of the canyon walls and the river, there is really no way to increase the traffic capacity of tlus lughway without spending a very large amount of highway funds. As noted before, Castle Valley already has the potential to double it's population, adding more traffic to this road via development of state lands presents major problems for all who need to travel along it.
4) The orientation of the current planning process seems skewed in the direction of development rather than conservation/open space. With respect to my three preceding points, I would like to see the possibilities for conservation and open space given the most emphasis. The option of finding a conservation buyer or buyers for the entire acreage of state lands in Castle valley is a reality, but it will only occur with your support and allowing the time needed to make this possible. An even better situation would be that you work with the residents of the Town of Castle Valley to allow us to purchase this land- How this gets accomplished is yet to be determined, but it can happen if you work with us, not against us. There is a solution that will give us what we both want.
Thank you for taking the time to read my comments. Once a&n, I ask you to please work with us to find common ground.
Sincerely,
Brian Murray
HC 64 Box 3716
Castle Valley, UT 84532
8 / 8 / 01
Damian Bollermann
H.C. 64 Box # 1909
Castle Valley UT 84532
Ruland Gill, Chairman, Board of Directors
State Trust Lands Administration
675 E. 500 S. Suite 500
Salt Lake City UT 84102
I am the Road Supervisor for the Town of Castle Valley. We are a small, very rural town. We have one county road here and many small dirt and gravel roads serving residents access needs. I keep these roads open, but we keep it simple. Voluntary simplicity is a theme here. I work closely with our mayor, Bruce Keeler and the members of the town council to maintain these roads in the way that best suits the community. People who have chosen to live here, myself included, have chosen to live here because this is a very special, magical, beautiful place. The residents here have repeatedly expressed to me their desire to see minimal road improvements. They don't want curbs and gutters. They want simple roads that are passable. Because natural beauty is what these people and this place are all about. "Minimal impact" would describe our program here very well.
As you probably know, SITLA, in partnership with The Castle Rock Collaboration, working with a team of professional planners, has been undertaking a comprehensive study of SITLA owned lands in Castle Valley.
I applaud The Board of Directors of SITLA for their willingness to engage in this collaborative effort with this community. I support inclusion of a one hundred percent conservation option in the current planning studies.
This is a fragile desert ecosystem, one which the residents of this place care deeply about. I do not foresee that the qualities which make Castle Valley special for residents and visitors alike could be maintained by planning solutions other than one hundred percent conservation and I urge you to continue to work with The Castle Rock Collaboration in persuing sales of SITLA lands in Castle Valley to buyers who would maintain them in their present condition.
Thank You,
Damian Bollermann
H.C. 64 Box # 1909
Castle Valley, UT
cc. Rick McBrier Laura Kamala
GRAND CANYON TRUST
"The Homestead"
2601 N. Fort Valley Rd.
Flagstaff, Arizona 86001
(520) 774-7488 FAX (520) 774-7570
August 6. 2001
Ruland Gill, Chairman Board of Directors
School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration
675 East 500 South
Salt Lake City, Utah 84102
t
Dear Chairman Gill,
I am writing to you in my capacity as Utah Conservation Director of the Grand Canyon Trust to endorse the collaborative planning effort being undertaken by SITLA staff and the community of Castle Valley in southeastern Utah. SITLA has shown creativity. and courage in engaging in this process, and the small local community has brought tremendous human and financial resources to the table in its search for an outcome that protects the water, wildlife and remote rural character of Castle Valley. Just a brief listing of some of the accomplishments to date should show how much has gone into this process and also hint at the possibilities for similar efforts throughout the state.
The Town of Castle Valley and the Castle Rock Collaboration raised more than $30,000 to help hire Conservation Partners and Studio 2 Design to prepare a master plan for 4,500 acres of Trust Land in the valley. This plan is nearly complete, now lacking just the results from an $80,000 study of groundwater resources paid for by the Town and being completed by the Utah Geological Survey and Utah Department of Water Quality. Utah Open Lands and the Grand Canyon Trust raised $240,000 to buy back from developers a. parcel of former Trust Land whose sale had first triggered the planning effort. Field studies by The Nature Conservancy and Grand Canyon Trust identified a large assemblage of the endangered Jones'Cycladenia on six parcels of Trust Land along the Colorado River at the north end of the valley. Early this year, The Nature Conservancy bought three of these parcels for more than $900,000 and has made an offer on the remaining three. Utah Open Lands (UOL) is in negotiations with Trust Lands to buy two key pieces of land right at the foot of Castleton Tower, one of the most famous landmarks and rock-climbing destinations in the West. UOL is partnering with the Access Fund, a national climbing group concerned that development on these state lands will foreclose access to the climbing areas. They have applied to the Utah Quality Growth Commission for matching funds. The Grand Canyon Trust is helping facilitate a land exchange between Trust Lands and the US Forest Service for three sections of State Land that indent the National Forest boundary on the high southern end of the valley. These inholdings in the wild forest lands will be exchanged for surface rights to National Forest lands near Huntington where the Trust Land Administration already owns subsurface coal reserves. We have lined up tentative congressional support for a land-exchange bill.
As you are aware, the Utah Legislature appropriated $1 million this year so that the Division of Wildlife Resources can buy protective easements on parcels of Trust Land that provide critical wildlife habitat. More than,3,000 acres of Trust Lands in Castle Valley have been identified as critical winter range for the LaSal Mountain deer herd. The community has been in close contact with staff at the Department of Natural Resources, and we have been told that we are a high priority area for receiving some of those appropriated funds. The Grand Canyon Trust has raised $I 00,000 to match any state funding used to buy protective easements in Castle Valley.
I hope you and your fellow board members will support this essentially unanimous community effort to find a collection of solutions that protect all the Trust Lands in Castle Valley from development. We are willing to work with you in any way necessary to reach that outcome.
Sincerely,
Bill Hedden
Utah Conservation Director Grand Canyon Trust
HC 64 Box 1801
Moab, Utah 84532