Meet One of Our Most Famous Residents

If you have wondered why the countdown clock (above) on the Utah Rotary District Conference blog features a tortoise on the golf course, here is the explanation!

Washington County, as an environment, is both blessed and cursed as the unique circumstances of the terrain find three ecosystems converging in this, the state’s most southwestern county. Where the Mojave Desert, Great Basin and the Colorado Plateau come together, there is a large array of plants and animals, some found nowhere else in the world and many which are protected by the Endangered Species Act.

The most famous of these protected species is the desert tortoise, able to live in temperatures exceeding 140 degrees because of its ability to dig underground burrows to escape the intense heat. At least 95% of its life is spent in burrows which also create a subterranean environment beneficial to other reptiles, mammals, birds and invertebrates.

The gentle and unassuming Gopherus agassizii, native to the Mojave and Sonoran deserts, was at the center of a political fire storm in the mid-1990's when the federal government mandated Washington County to protect both the animal and thousands of acres of its habitat. After several years of controversy, land swaps and millions of dollars spent on both sides of the issue, a Habitat Conservation Plan was finalized and approved, which called for the creation of the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve.

The reserve is 62,000 acres of protected red rock desert where hiking, biking, horseback riding and other activities are allowed, but which protects the tortoise and other desert critters and prohibits forever the development of this spectacular land.

While it is unlikely you will actually see a desert tortoise during the Utah Rotary District Conference, May 13-15, 2010 . . . you may hear an occasional reference to one of our most famous residents so we wanted you to be familiar with his name and face!

Hike, Bike and Enjoy the Red Rocks

When he first saw the terrain in and around what is now St. George, early Mormon scout Parley P. Pratt was stunned and reported to LDS Church President Brigham Young that the area "shows no signs of water or fertility . . . a wide expanse of chaotic matter presented itself, huge hills, sandy deserts; cheerless, grassless plains, perpendicular rocks, loose barren clay, dissolving beds of sandstone . . . lying in inconceivable confusion - in short, a country in ruins, dissolved by the pelting of the storm of ages, or turned inside out, upside down in terrible convulsions in some former age."

Famed Utah author and historian Juanita Brooks noted, "it looks like the good Lord took everything left over from the creation, dumped it here, then set it on fire!"

Most visitors to this area already know to bring a camera, but if you enjoy the experience of exploring on foot, our red rock country is also a hikers - and bikers - paradise! There are worldclass hikes in Zion National Park (the #1 favorite national park based on a recent nationwide poll), Snow Canyon State Park, on Pine Valley Mountain and in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve. For those who want to get outside, exercise and enjoy our exquisite red rock terrain, but don’t want to work too hard for the pleasure, the area is also famous for miles and miles of paved or natural trails which intersect and connect at a variety of locations.

As you prepare for your visit in St. George on May 13-15, 2010 remember to bring walking or hiking shoes, sunblock, a hat and bottled water because hiking or biking in Washington County is certain to be another high point of your Utah District Conference weekend.

". . . But, It's A Dry Heat!"

It is well documented that the three modern innovations responsible for the world’s discovery of St. George as a great place to live and raise a family . . . or to retire are: (1) the I-15 freeway, (2) golf, and (3) air conditioning.

OK, we admit it! It gets plenty HOT here in July and August! J. Golden Kimball, an early Mormon church leader expressed it best after a visit to the area when he told local residents, "if I had property in St. George and property in Hell, I’d sell my property in St. George and live in Hell." In fact, we hold the state’s record high temperature set July 4, 2007 when the thermostat hit an official 118 degrees - but it also gets cold (although we don’t get much sympathy from our friends to the north). The lowest temperature on record for St. George was -11 degrees in 1937, but usually the area boasts mild winters and infrequent traces of snowfall which rarely stays on the ground for more than a day (and NEVER needs to be shoveled off the driveway).

In the summertime - beyond that frequent and irritating question . . ."is it hot enough for you?" - local residents don’t complain much about the weather because in this semi-arid climate, we enjoy 300 days of bright sunshine, low annual precipitation (our low humidity makes our high summer temperatures almost bearable), clean air and a wide daily temperature range.

In the month of May, Utah Rotary District Conference attendees should find the weather comfortably in the mid-80 degree range during the day, dropping to a mild 65-70 degrees in the evening. If its warmer than that during your visit on May 13-15, 2010 . . . just remember, it’s a dry heat!