Grand Staircase & Bears Ears.

[Tundracamper]

I suspect this will relight this fire …

Trump to shrink 2 Utah national monuments by 90%

“The order applies to the Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears national monuments, shrinking their total coverage by roughly 90% from 3 million acres to 300,000. The areas were established as federal monuments by President Bill Clinton in 1996 and Barack Obama in 2016, respectively”

 

[MOAK]

Nope, no fire from here; it’ll never happen. It’ll get tied up in the courts as the constitutionality of the latest attempt is debated. Then he’ll be gone and the next prez will drop the case- I’ve spent a bit of time traveling and camping in each. Allowing mining & drilling in either of these regions, in my mind, would be sacrilege.

 

[grubworm]

its not official yet...Utah government still has one play left...

 

[cwella]

From what I understand, the Blue Ribbon Coalition’s involvement is tied to their focus on maintaining public access and protecting recreational use of public lands. Their position is generally that land management decisions should consider responsible recreation, existing access routes, and multiple uses of these areas.

That said, it’s a complicated issue, and people can have very different views depending on how they weigh conservation, recreation, resource development, and local impacts. Hopefully any decisions made will balance protecting these places while keeping them accessible for future generations.

 

[MOAK]

From what I understand, the Blue Ribbon Coalition’s involvement is tied to their focus on maintaining public access and protecting recreational use of public lands. Their position is generally that land management decisions should consider responsible recreation, existing access routes, and multiple uses of these areas.

That said, it’s a complicated issue, and people can have very different views depending on how they weigh conservation, recreation, resource development, and local impacts. Hopefully any decisions made will balance protecting these places while keeping them accessible for future generations.

I’ve had a few conversations with leadership at the BRC. I questioned their wisdom concerning their alignment with lawmakers that would open up land to mineral extraction, because once that happens, access for us comes to an abrupt halt, the no trespassing signs go up. If the BRC announced tomorrow that they were working with an idea, instead of drawing ideological lines and aligning themselves with corporations, then and only then would I become a member and donate funds. In other words- stick with keeping protected lands protected, but at the same time allow motorized access to the protected/monuments. Work with, instead of against. Just my thoughts.

 

[cwella]

I’ve had a few conversations with leadership at the BRC. I questioned their wisdom concerning their alignment with lawmakers that would open up land to mineral extraction, because once that happens, access for us comes to an abrupt halt, the no trespassing signs go up. If the BRC announced tomorrow that they were working with an idea, instead of drawing ideological lines and aligning themselves with corporations, then and only then would I become a member and donate funds. In other words- stick with keeping protected lands protected, but at the same time allow motorized access to the protected/monuments. Work with, instead of against. Just my thoughts.

I can understand that perspective. It seems like there's room for an approach that focuses on protecting the land while also maintaining responsible motorized access where it's appropriate. Finding common ground instead of taking hard sides would probably bring more people to the table.