Protection of public lands is an American custom. I learned this in an anthropology class at Westminster College where I attend school. As a lifetime resident of Utah, I’ve spent my free time exploring Utah’s public lands, and I’ve determined our state is special.
Surprisingly, the areas that make Utah so unique are under attack. Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument is my favorite place to visit in Utah, and it’s under threat of reduction. Bears Ears National Monument protects countless valuable cultural, historical and recreational sites. Why would any American, let alone our leaders, threaten these treasured landscapes?
Economically speaking, tourism is a sustainable industry. The rest of the globe will want to continue visiting our awe-inspiring red rock structures, slot canyons and native ruins. Meanwhile, fossil fuel extraction will run dry. If Utah’s disputed lands were in any other state, their leaders would rush to protect the beauty and value of the land and not sell it to extractive industries. When you put it into perspective, Utahns are blessed with our access to these areas, but the government is blind to the aesthetic and economic value of preserving these monuments. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke’s recommendations attack our American landscapes and principles at the core, and our State Legislature’s support of this plan betrays our values as American citizens.
Rosanise Odell
Salt Lake City