Trust Lands Update - June 2002
01-Jun-2002
Trust Lands Update
May Land Auction
Results are in from the Trust Lands May land auction sale. Six parcels of trust land were sold for a total of $882,565 - an aggregate of 140 acres at an average of more than $6,300 per acre. The lowest per-acre price in the sale was $750, while the highest was $41,875 per acre. Four of the properties sold are in the St. George area, one piece is in Tooele County near I-80 and the other is in Summit County near the Utah/Wyoming border.
The sale was held in St. George. The next auction sale is in Salt Lake City scheduled for October 4, 2002. A sales packet with sale details will be available by September. If you are interested in receiving a sales packet, contact the TLA, toll free, at 1-877-LAND SALE, or see it on the Trust Lands web site at www.trustlands.com. Click on the "Land Auction" link under "Surface Group" on the home page. Proceeds from land sales go into the permanent funds of Utah's schools and other trust beneficiaries.
Volunteers Wanted
The Trust Lands Administration has a number of volunteer opportunities for interested avocational archaeologists this summer. Volunteers will assist with surveys and testing and can gain experience in an array or field techniques, methods and analysis. Volunteers will only need to bring a tent, sleeping bag, clothes and other personal gear. TLA will have a base camp and all the necessities, including food.
Field surveys will take place in a number of locations indcluding: near the Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument, a parcel just east of Capitol Reef, a site near Eureka, and several others.
Archaeology field work can be physically challenging and volunteers should expect primitive conditions at base camps. For more information contact Corinne Springer at 801-538-5174 or Kristine Curry at 801-538-5181.
St. George Community Enhancement
The City of St. George and the Trust Lands Administration continue to cooperate in meeting the changing needs of the city. Recently the efforts led to better access in the Dixie Downs area and the location of a new firehouse.
The Trust Lands Administration's St. George office negotiated an agreement with the City of St. George for financing the extension of Dixie Downs Road to its intersection with Snow Canyon Parkway. The construction upgraded the old dirt road to a fully paved city street with curb, gutter, water and sewer service.
In addition to improving current access to Snow Canyon Parkway, the new road fronts on nine acres of commercially zoned trust land, substantially increasing the market value of those pieces. Because of the enhancement the road and infrastructure brings to trust property, Trust Lands paid half of the construction costs for the extension.
The new road will also benefit a St. George fire station which will be built on two acres of city property recently purchased from Trust Lands. The new fire station will primarily serve the northwest area of the city.
Carbon County, Dugout Canyon Coal
One of the newest coal mines to come into production for Trust Lands is the Dugout Canyon Mine in the Book Cliffs region of Carbon County. The mine contains approximately 41.2 million tons of recoverable coal reserves owned by the Trust Lands Administration, the federal government and private owners. Trust recoverable coal is estimated at 22.8 million tons of the total.
An original trust interest in the coal (10.6 million tons) was acquired through an in-lieu selection in 1985. However, additional coal reserves were acquired by TLA as part of the large state-federal land exchange in 1998 - bringing the total to the 22.8 millions estimated tons.
Mine operations began in October 1998. Since then, about 3,500,000 tons of trust coal have been produced. The coal reserves should be mined-out in about 18 years, bringing more than $20 million to the Trust.
Although more than 14,000 subsurface acres are leased for the mine, only 22 acres will be disturbed on the surface. The mine is operated by Canyon Fuel LLC, a subsidiary of Arch Coal Inc.
For more information contact:
Dave Hebertson
(801) 538-5102
DAVEHEBERTSON@utah.gov
Trust Lands Administration
675 East 500 South, Suite 500
Salt Lake City, UT 84102
This letter is available by e-mail. If you would like to receive the e-mail version, contact Dave Hebertson.