I agree with Chris
Saeger’s initial statement in the Nov. 17 paper, that as westerners, “we love
our public lands.” It is because of that core value attachment to the
land, that San Juan County citizens have been fighting to protect 1.9 million
acres from further federal restriction and control, via a national
monument. We appreciate the support given by the Duchesne County
Commissioners who approved resolution 16-11 opposing the Bears Ears National
Monument designation during their meeting on Nov. 14.
San Juan County is
already home to six of those federal designations/destinations: Natural
Bridges, Hovenweep, Canyonlands, Dark Canyon and Grand Gulch Wilderness areas,
and Glen Canyon Recreation Area. Only 8% of San Juan County’s 5,077,120
acres are privately owned. We need jobs and a tax base and multiple use
of local land not one more monument. Some areas in that coveted land, do NOT
meet the definition of “public”, including 43 grazing allotments, 661
water-right infrastructures, 151,000 acres of state trust land, and 18,000
acres of private property, as well as hundreds of miles of roads and
infrastructure.
Because most of the area
in question, is already public, the BLM and Forest Service have the authority
and jurisdiction to manage it. It may be true that inadequate staffing
has been a problem, but consider that our Federal Government is nearly $20
Trillion in debt; it's a wonder that anything is functioning. If you managed
your personal budget like the US government, you'd be filing for bankruptcy, or
be in debtors' prison. Ironically, the US National Parks and
Monuments are under a 2-year maintence deferment totaling
nearly $11.5 billion dollars. Utah alone is behind $278,094,606 in
park maintenance. There is no money to support EXISTING monuments, much
less new ones.
We have learned from
other “monumental” mistakes, that tourist destinations have a heavy negative
impact on land. Because the State of Utah does such a good job of
promoting Parks and Monuments, places like Moab and Zions park are now overrun
by too many visitors. In the Cedar Mesa area of San Juan County where
thousands of fragile Anasazi ruins exist, such excessive visitation would be
counterproductive to preservation of these important sites. The BLM already has
the jurisdiction and power to enforce and supervise visitation there. National
Monument status would only compound existing problems.
Unlike Mr. Saeger who
believes that the federal government can better manage public lands, I find no
fiscal support for his position. I would also suggest that perhaps the
restrictive nature of federal timber management and policy has often been the
very cause of fires. Wouldn’t it be wiser to allow logging, and encourage
gathering of dead wood, and allow cattle to graze to control grass, rather than
burning up our U.S. forests? I do agree we need to give the president elect a
chance to make both America and our public lands great again. Sign our
petition, join our protest, and let sovereign state’s rights speak louder than
rich lobby coalitions. www.savebearsears.com
