Coldrum submitted this story:
A federal land bill that includes a southern Utah reservoir proposal threatens to submerge some sandstone walls covered with historical rock art.
The Washington County Growth and Conservation Act would transfer land rights around the Ft. Pearce wash from federal land agencies to the Washington County Conservancy District.
Sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah and U.S. Sen. Bill Bennett, R-Utah, is set to be heard by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Nov. 16.
If it passes through Congress, the conservancy district has plans to build a reservoir.
"We think there should be a reservoir there - more flood control than perhaps storage," district General Manager Ronald Thompson said. "Exactly where it will be, I don't know."
The reservoir would take water from the Lake Powell pipeline and reduce the flood risk in Apple Valley and Bloomington Hills.
But Chaitna Sinha, an attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, said that would leave invaluable resources under water. The wash area's rock art includes graffiti from 19th-century pioneers, American Indian petroglyphs and fossilized plants.
"These panels like this, they're really sacred to us," said Glenn Rogers, chairman of the Shivwits Band of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah. "It's just like going into a temple when we view these things."
Salt Lake Tribune / AP
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