One of the more preposterous statements made in the current wilderness debate is that the Utah congressional delegation is about to "steal southern Utah's natural heritage." If anyone or any group is going to steal the sense of openness and naturalness from the deep recesses of southern Utah canyon country it will be the loud and wealthy, tax-exempt environmental industry.
Long forgotten reaches, abandoned decades ago by the lonely miner or driller, are now front-page fare in the full-color marketing pieces of this lucrative industry. These lands are being more thoroughly exploited today by those who promote them as part of their job as environmentalist advocates of wildlands than they ever were historically.Some of the direct consequences of their promotional activities, aside from generating profit from calendars, hiking exposes and membership dues include: more foot trails, bike trails, garbage, human waste, instructional signs, regulations, law enforcement patrols, costs to local government for crowd control and search and rescue, and a general loss of peace and serenity to the plaid clad, waffle stomper crowd.
The spirit of wilderness has already been stolen by those who profess to be its savior but who have in fact trampled the life out of its essential serenity and solitude in an orgy of self-indulgence.
Lilly Mae Noorlander
Moab