Proposed Monuments in Utah, S2 EP52
Utah's have been wary of monuments since the 1996 designation of the Grand Staircase Escalate Monument. The monument was declared with no input from the state or the counties and has largely been viewed as a political move that has hurt the economies of Kane and Garfield County.
Monuments can be declared by the President of the United States by using the antiquities act. The designation of millions of acres as a monument seems like a misuse of the law and takes away the input from local governments.
In a state like Utah this is particularly troubling because 67% of the state is made up of federally managed lands. Monument designations take some possible uses of the land off the table.
The proposal by the Outdoor Industries Association of a 1.4 million acre monument in
the Canyon Lands area seems to go beyond what is necessary for protection especially when the proposal is similar if not identical to a previous plan that surfaced last year from the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.
Below are some links where you can learn more about what is being proposed and some opinions on whether another monument in Utah would or would not be a good idea.
Outdoor Retailers
http://www.outdoorindustry.org/news/oia.php?newsId=17492&newsSubType=&action=display
Outdoor retailer Letter:
http://www.suwa.org/wp-content/uploads/OutdoorRetailersLetter.pdf
Canyonlands Map
http://www.scribd.com/doc/113022883/Canyonlands-monument-plan
Salt Lake Tribune Story
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55262577-78/monument-canyonlands-national-outdoor.html.csp
Deseret News
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865566603/Group-to-ask-President-Obama-to-turn-Greater-Canyonlands-into-national-monument.html
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765615482/Outdoor-companies-ask-Obama-for-Utah-monument.html
Antiquities Act
http://www.cr.nps.gov/local-law/FHPL_AntiAct.pdf
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
http://www.suwa.org/issues/greatercanyonlands/
Sierra Club
http://connect.sierraclub.org/app/render/go.aspx?sBlogID=5491&xslt=blog/blogbase.xslt&mode=post&sPostID=187624&tab=Blog&g=63ae90c8-370a-43fe-8b0d-ffa9000856ad&cons_id=&ts=1356116339&signature=9e0b411fc12cc95fc9d859d367d61072
Blue Ribbon Coalition:
http://www.sharetrails.org/uploads/BRC_Letter_Re_OIA_Canyonlands_Petition_11.20.12_FINAL.pdf
Additional Points of view
http://sagebrushcoalition.com/
look for rebuttal from Lynn Jackson.
http://sagebrushcoalition.com/2012/12/01/ashley-korenblat-responds-to-the-controversy-surrounding-the-oia-greater-canyonlands-letter/
|
|
|
|
Copyright © 2012 The County Seat All Rights Reserved. |