NATHAN JOHNSON - Daily Herald | Posted: Saturday, June 23, 2007 11:00 pm
The Red Slab and Green Jell-O are said to be great climbs in Rock Canyon, and local outdoor enthusiasts love the area.
The lower reaches of the canyon are private land, not public -- and to the chagrin of many a rock lover, one of the property owners wants to remove decorative stone on the property, in a surface mining operation.
An attorney for Richard Davis, a Springdell man who owns part interest in a section of the canyon -- a section which he wants to mine -- says that the mining efforts won't impact recreation opportunities.
Utah Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, however, disagrees -- and says that mining has already caused problems.
Valentine, who also owns an interest in the property, points to the Red Slab rock formation. Mining operations have destabilized the toe of the formation, he said, and made parts of it dangerous.
Valentine and law partner Phil Lowry created the Red Slab private corporation in 2004. Its purpose is the preservation of the canyon against mining operations.
Red Slab acquired its interest in the property through a complex purchase arrangement involving a previous owner and Provo City.
The purchase money came from the city, which paid for a permanent conservation easement.
Davis, the would-be miner, and Red Slab became co-owners of a 84.5-acre parcel in the canyon. Davis disputes a number of issues regarding the property.
Among them are whether the city had rights to zone the land the way it did and whether Davis's former partners and previous co-owners had the rights to sell their interest in the land to Red Slab.
In 2006, Davis received a victory when 4th District Court Judge James Taylor refused to grant a preliminary injunction that would have blocked Davis from excavating rock from the canyon.
Michael Zundel, Davis's attorney, said the court has also issued an order that would give Davis the right to remove several tons of rock from the canyon in order to test the market and gauge the market value of the property.
Despite objections to Davis' mining efforts, Zundel says the excavation operations won't affect people who want to enjoy the canyon.
"The mining work that we have in mind will not impact ... any of the popular trails or any of the popular rock climbing routes," Zundel said.
Davis will also have to remove some rock from the area for remediation work from previous mining operations.
"Mr. Davis certainly has the right to use his property in legal ways," Zundel said.
Valentine says that there are places where he supports the removal of some rock. But he says that previous mining has removed critical stabilization portions of the rock, and that it is dangerous.
The question of how much rock might be taken out of the canyon is still a matter that depends heavily on how the courts rule, and who ends up controlling the land.
Valentine believes that the litigation could drag on indefinitely, calling it one of "the vulgarities of the system."
Zundel, however, hopes that his client can begin his operations as soon as the end of this year.
Local climbers, meanwhile, particularly love the area and would like to see it preserved as is.
"It's a great place for recreation," said Cassie Singly, a Provo resident and avid climber. "It's really close, and people of all different ability levels, from beginners to experienced climbers, can go there."
Nathan Johnson can be reached at 344-2543 or at njohnson@heraldextra.com.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B1.