Letter: Don’t change administration of Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument
Once again Utah leaders are going against the will of the people. In a recent poll, 86% of Utahns wanted monuments left intact. But Senator Lee and Representative Celeste Maloy have used the Congressional Review Act (until last year, never used for management plans) to undo the management plans for Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. If passed, it will leave 900,000 acres without a plan and in chaos. We saw the destruction that occurred during government shutdown: graffiti, trampled trails, loss of safety, stolen and damaged artifacts, and a mess. That was temporary. Imagine the destruction this will cause.
Though Utah delegates and the governor complain that all parties were not consulted, the Biden era planning process had dozens if not hundreds of meetings with local stakeholders from the counties to local utilities, to ranchers and grazers, to special permit holders, and reflected their input. There were at least 1,600 individual responses considered, some 34 public hearings and the input of several tribal nations with ties to the land.
Utah leaders say they want the free market rather than government intervention. But visitation has increased in monument areas over the last four years, and with it increases in revenue. In 2024, Utah earned 9.4 billion dollars from outdoor recreation. Some local leaders complain the monument restricts business (mining), but over 40 business owners in the local areas have signed a letter urging other state congresspeople to oppose the CRA, and the monument provides more jobs than drilling and mining. Rep. Maloy said she wanted to be able to picnic and camp in the monument, and nothing in the Biden plan restricts that.
Protect our public lands. Call Utah delegates and reps in other states to oppose the CRA for GSENM.
Patty Becnel
Ogden