Like many Americans who love red rock country, I am aghast at the animosity — coming from both sides — that surrounds Utah’s public lands debate. I can’t help but believe there are ranchers, hunters and ATV riders who love the land as I do, and that common ground is closer than we think.
If you love the land, you do not want to see irresponsible oil and gas drilling, coal mining, or rampant tourism. But what do we want for this land we love?
I believe Rob Bishop's failed Public Lands Initiative was the right idea, wrongly executed. Zones for energy extraction, grazing, motorized recreation, nonmotorized recreation and wilderness make sense as long as they are thoughtfully designed. That means protected wildlife corridors; energy extraction away from view, sheds and populated areas; responsible tourism development; and enough wilderness that our experience of nature is not a mass migration up the Zion Narrows.
No one will get everything, but if monuments are scaled back and wilderness-quality BLM land is lost to developers or extraction companies, no one wins. No one, that is, except those who ravage the land, pocket their money and move on. Let's try the PLI again, but this time, keep our love of the land in mind.
Marjorie McCloy
Salt Lake City