Utah Rep. Blake Moore inaccurately portrays public land policy and threatens Utah’s environment in his recent op-ed (“Reps. Moore and Westerman: Productivity, not partisanship, protects natural resources,” March 1). Although HR803 isn’t about Utah, his view will affect Utah’s public lands. As an ecology student, I study natural resources and understand how essential public lands are to people and the environment.
Rep. Moore makes the false claim that the PAW (Protecting America’s Wilderness) Act would prohibit people from any form of wheeled recreation on public lands. You can bike, snowmobile, push a stroller, and recreate many ways in national parks and monuments — what Utah is best known for. These parks attract about 9 million visitors annually, proving to be another profitable industry for local communities.
Only 2% of public land in Utah is wilderness, which prohibits nonessential motorized travel and conserves lands that bring respite and solace to millions of people. Wilderness does not exclude families from recreating and offers sustainable, long-term recreation opportunities.
Protecting land also mitigates the climate crisis. Tackling climate problems requires bold action now, like protecting the natural world. It’s time to apply global policy locally. Since Rep. Moore is already fighting for bipartisanship, he is in a great place to lead by example.
Maria Catalano
Logan