Rural voices must continue to be heard

The wider span of public discourse and debate must continue to include voices of those in the rural west, both Native and Anglo voices alike.  The romanticized view of the land we live in needs a reality check for urban America.  A recent article in the Washington Post , followed by comments of east coast attitudes illustrates this well.  Read article and then read the comments at the end and respond.  We need more conservatives who are willing to write and represent Utah and San Juan County.  

One comment: 

Greg McGowan

12/31/2016 10:35 AM MST

Because Utah had introduced a bill in their Legislature to literally seize all non-military Fed lands so they could sell them to the highest bidder then pocket ALL the money in their personal bank accounts.

My posted response: That is an outright lie and slanderous; fear mongering at its best saying that sales of Fed. lands would be pocketed. The state of Utah is solvent, something the Federal government has not been for decades. State leaders have been voted in by those who know them, and support them. Unlike National bureaucrats, they are accountable to the voters, very directly. The waste and inefficiency that exists in the bureaucracy of our nation is the real tragedy. State leaders are much more accountable to those who elect them. 

There are over 100,000 acres of state SITLA lands within this designation, which are specifically earmarked for schools in the state. When it is made inaccessible, it doesn't benefit local children.  Many Federal Parks and Monuments have been poorly managed, using strategies that promote vandalism, forest fires, and road closures. Often they do not protect the very thing identified. Promoting tourism would be a tragedy for these fragile landscapes full of ancient ruins...unless you plan to fence everything in. Many areas in this 1.3 Million acres could help fund our schools and our county which is the poorest in the state. Only 8 % of San Juan County is privately owned, hence the poverty. Discrimination is perpetuated when East coast and west coast environmental extremists, take from the poor to support their personal agendas of land lock up in the West. There is abundant land in Utah for both private and protected agendas to share and enjoy. Bears Ears NM was no compromise.