On the Bright Side of Public Lands

On Wednesday, June 14, Summit County Council adopted a resolution that recognized the value of federal public lands to the county, Utah’s economy, recreation, heritage, and quality of life.  This resolution also supported Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The resolution is one of three that have been adopted throughout the state to protect the integrity of our public lands, including our national monuments.

 

This resolution opposes Governor Herbert’s efforts to transfer Federal public lands and their management to the state of Utah. It came after citizens flooded the council with emails, phone calls, and postcards in support of Keep Public Lands in Public Hands. The Summit County Council resolution comes in the wake of Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke’s interim report that recommends the administration shrink Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument.  This resolution specifically opposed such an action by stating:

 

“Whereas, Summit County supports the continued designations of our national monuments, particularly those located in the state of Utah, such as Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante.  The lands within Bears Ears National Monument are shared ancestral lands of more than one dozen tribes and are sacred to Native Americans throughout the Southwest.  Any change to the designation of this monument should be done in consultation with the sovereign Nations of the Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, and Ute Mountain Ute tribes.”

 

The efforts to adopt similar public lands resolutions throughout the state is led by the Utah Chapter of the Sierra Club’s Keep Public Lands in Public Hands campaign.

 

In response, Lawson LeGate, Utah Sierra Club Chapter Keeping Public Lands in Public Lands Volunteer Leader responds:

 

“I am extremely proud of our volunteers’ efforts, and commend Summit County Council along with Salt Lake City Council, and Castle Valley City Council in adopting resolutions in support of public lands.”

 

“These efforts demonstrate the power of the people and how banding together can illuminate the support for our public lands and environmental protections to create a force for change.”

 

“America’s public lands are a precious part of the heritage of all Americans.  Efforts by the State of Utah to seize control of America’s public lands, if successful, will result in the destruction of some of the nation’s most spectacularly scenic wildlands and most valuable wildlife habitat as the state opens these lands to energy and other development. Federal land managers need to know that the people of Utah “have their backs” and this campaign and the continued passing of public lands resolutions will continue to demonstrate that fact!”