Re: “,” Dec. 4 news story.
On Monday, President Donald Trump chose, at the whim of out-of-step Utah politicians, to make a decision that will be remembered as historically unpopular among Utah residents. Arguing that Utahns supported his drastic reductions of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, he ignored the data indicating Utahns supported leaving both national monuments unchanged by a margin of two to one. Using the bogus argument that people in Utah know better than “distant bureaucrats” how to manage their spectacular public lands, Trump also demonstrated his ignorance of the original monument proclamation which granted a managerial role, based on their “tribal expertise” and “traditional history and knowledge,” to the Bears Ears Commission composed of local Native Americans who fought for this monument. Bears Ears was to be the beginning of healing. But in this administration, “healing” is anathema. Now itap up to the courts to make this right.
ܲDzDz,Denver
I’m an avid mountain biker, runner and hiker and love what Colorado has to offer, but I also enjoy engaging in outdoor activities on public lands in adjacent southeast Utah. When I heard President Donald Trump was reducing the size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Esclante national monuments, I must admit I had a difficult time understanding the reasoning.
The outdoor recreation industry contributes $887 billion in annual spending each year, creates 7.6 million jobs, provides $65.3 billion in federal tax revenue, and $59.2 billion in state and local taxes. Supposedly, this action will allow for more coal and other natural resource mining, but as itap been noted numerous times, coal is becoming an increasingly less competitive fuel and its long-term benefits are waning. I don’t want to be cynical, but I believe strongly that this is being done to solely appease the wishes of major donors from the extractive industries. Which of our protected, natural lands are on the chopping block next? Rocky Mountain National Park? The Black Canyon of the Gunnison?
ٳɾԱڴǰ,Black Hawk
It is all about money. The state of Utah, along with many other states, have long complained of how much of their land was under federal control. Now that the government has returned control of some of that land back to Utah, guess who controls it now? Utah does. Utah has the power to protect and preserve their own land now. They just have to do it with their own money instead of the federal government’s.
RobStalder, Lakewood
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