Robert Redford has done an incredible job building and managing a “wilderness” recreation experience at his Sundance Ski Resort, a part of which is leased land from the U.S. Forest Service.
To sustain the “management” of the place, ski and zip line tickets are sold, restaurants charge for food, cabin lots are sold.
Timber has been clear-cut to make ski runs, lifts and cables have been installed to access the tops of the mountains, the river has been dammed to make a reflection pond, and structures have been built for enjoyment of guests. To help “manage” nature, snow-making machines have been installed. Sundance has multiple uses, generates revenues, creates jobs and invests money each year to keep it a wonderful place!
If a president came in and declared that Sundance was so special — which it is — and that it needed to be preserved and past activities be banned, or limited, I would fight against that presidential action, even if the president was of my own party.
So, the exact parallels exist with the monuments — Bears Ears and Grand Staircase. Like Sundance, these areas are wonderful places. For the past 100-plus years, these lands have been managed as multiple-use. Revenues and jobs are created; money is required to have active management of habitats, water and wildlife. Like Sundance, these areas have been kept pristine and natural systems even augmented.
So here is the problem now with the presidential monuments: All of a sudden, someone comes in and wants to put incredible restrictions on past use and, over time, federal agencies demand more and more “natural systems” and no “management.” The parallel at Sundance would be to turn off the snow-making machines and stop skiing, mountain biking and zip line activity because these activities are not “natural.” And people in large cities far away would begin to demonize Redford for making money and pillaging the land. Without consulting, or respecting Redford’s lifetime of work and investment, they would make edicts from afar about how to manage his resort.
Now, Sundance is mostly privately owned. But there are exact parallels in whether you can have certain “management” activities of land, water and wildlife, and if certain functions, such as hunting, grazing and limited mineral development, can take place — and if these traditional uses can continue to be allowed.
If the shoe were on the other foot, Redford would be adamantly opposed to federal mandates from afar. I would join him in his defense.
It would be nice for once for those on the left to say, “Yes, let's protect and preserve these magnificent places. Let's protect historical uses. Let's continue to allow certain renewable activities that generate revenue. And let's not demonize capitalism. And, just like at Sundance, let's recognize that through cooperation and collaboration, on federal lands we can have a multiple-use, 'wilderness' experience."
Don Peay was founder of both Trump for President Utah and Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife. He holds a bachelor's in chemical engineering and an MBA, both from Brigham Young University.