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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A U.S. House subcommittee plans to hold a hearing next month on a bill that's been called America's Red Rock Wilderness Act.
The bill was first introduced in 1989 and has been reintroduced every year since. But The Salt Lake Tribune reports from Washington that it has never had a hearing or a vote.
The bill is a proposal of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. It seeks to designate 9.4 million acres of federal land in Utah as wilderness, a move that would protect it against future mining or development.
Opponents of the bill say it overestimates the land that should be protected and that it would restrict rural Utah's economic development.
The hearing before a House Natural Resources subcommittee is scheduled for Oct. 1. However, the hearing doesn't indicate that the bill is on track to become law.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
