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SALT LAKE CITY -- Gov. Jon Huntsman met with state officials and others to discuss issues facing the Great Salt Lake, including whether oil drilling would harm Robert Smithson's art installation "Spiral Jetty."
Before touring the area in a helicopter Monday, the governor met with Mike Styler, director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, and others about forming a commission to manage issues affecting the lake. Huntsman spokeswoman Lisa Roskelley said the governor is interested in the long-term vision for the lake. Issues include wildlife habitat, recreational and industrial activities and the five counties that lay claim to portions of the lake. Pearl Exploration and Production Ltd. of Canada is seeking a permit to drill for oil in an area where it already has a lease. A public-comment period drew about 3,000 e-mails and letters and almost 200 phone calls to the Governor's Public Lands Policy Coordination Office, most in opposition. "Spiral Jetty" is a 1,500-foot-long coil of basalt rock created by Smithson in 1970, three years before his death. It was given to New York's Dia Art Foundation as part of Smithson's estate. Dia officials want to create a buffer zone around the sculpture, but it would have to obtain leases currently held by oil interests. "My personal opinion is it's not going to present any great eyesore or change to a visit to the jetty," said Jim Springer of the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining. A drilling platform would be 6 feet high and five miles away, he said. "There is oil in the lake -- we all know that," Styler said. "My personal opinion is that it can be done pretty safely." |
