The last gasp of the 109th Congress is likely to include a Utah senator’s proposal that has the potential to set precedent that could adversely affect publicly owned wilderness lands across the West.
Despite loud protest, Sen. Bob Bennett is pushing ahead with legislation that would order the sale of nearly 38 square miles of public land for commercial development near Zion National Park.
Fifteen percent of the proceeds would go to state and local uses, including administrative costs and water projects. Eighty-five percent would be earmarked for local projects, bestowed by the federal government. In return, developers would get hold of wilderness lands to subdivide into real estate holdings.
Since when have federal lands become a chit to be cashed when officials don’t want to raise taxes to pay for projects like water pipelines? This sell-off would reward developers at the expense of the public interest.
If the measure passes, we fear the practice could become a tempting fallback for officials who don’t have the political will to ask the public to fund local projects.
We’re not absolutists on the question of public lands. The fact is, it’s sometimes prudent to buy or trade for holdings to protect the most pristine wilderness areas or to sell off parcels that lack any particular environmental or public value.
That’s not the case here. This is an effort to award developers a valuable swath of Utah’s Washington County – and allowing further encroachments on the dwindling open space in one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation. In exchange, the bill would offer wilderness protection to 220,000 acres elsewhere in the state. It almost sounds reasonable until you consider that half that land is already protected.
Bennett and Rep. Jim Matheson point out that Congress has approved a similar deal in Nevada, resulting in construction of a shooting park outside Las Vegas and a community center. But doing a land sale in Nevada doesn’t make it right for Utah.
Recently a group of 47 members of Congress sent a letter to House leaders, protesting the Utah legislation. The Outdoor Industry Association, which represents outdoors goods retailers, and environmental groups oppose the bill.
A lame-duck Congress can be dangerous to the public interest, particularly when the party in power is about to give up the reins. Lawmakers must resist this effort to diminish the federal lands.
There are 655 million acres of federally owned lands across the United States, a priceless public asset that must be managed thoughtfully. The last thing they should become is a slush fund for politicians and their donors.
