Yesterday, in the Sun Advocate – the Carbon County local newspaper – the following was published by contributing writer Dennis Willis:

When I read Carbon County Commissioner John Jones’ testimony to Congress on the Antiquities Act, I was stunned by his statement; the people of rural Utah, “live in fear,” of the presidential power to create National Monuments. Further in his testimony, Commissioner Jones described how the designation of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, “devastated the economies of Kane and Garfield Counties and the lifestyles of the people live there.” In the devastating twelve years after the designation their population rose by 8%, jobs rose by 38% and per capita income increased by 30%.

By comparison Carbon County should be in the chips since the 1996 monument designation. Along with not being encumbered by a monument, Carbon enjoyed a net loss of federal land within the county. Several thousand acres of mineral rich BLM lands in Carbon County were transferred to the State of Utah. Since the designation, Carbon has seen the development of four coalbed methane fields, a conventional gas field, some limited oil drilling. The Lila Canyon Coal Mine opened just across the line in Emery County. The nearest population center, coal shipping facility and mine service companies are all in Carbon County. While the monument is closed to oil and gas development, 78% of the public lands in Carbon and Emery Counties are available for leasing.

While the population around the GSENM was growing, Carbon County population declined and has just recovered to the 1996 level. Jobs grew by about 3%. Per capita income grew by just 11%. In 1996 both Kane and Garfield counties had lower per capita income than did Carbon. The reverse is now true despite all the extractive industry development in Carbon.

Read more by clicking here.

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From the offices of Representative Rush Holt and Senator Dick Durbin:

Thursday, 18 April 2013 15:04

BILL WOULD SAFEGUARD 9.1 MILLION ACRES OF PUBLIC LAND IN UTAH

(Washington, D.C.) – In an effort to preserve 9.1 million acres of Utah’s spectacular red rock country as wilderness, U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12) and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (IL) today introduced legislation in the Senate and House that would ensure the public land remains in its natural, undeveloped state. Holt and Durbin’s bipartisan America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, which was introduced with 60 cosponsors in the House and 11 in the Senate, would protect the land from commercial development, motorized vehicles, road building, as well as oil and gas drilling. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) currently owns the 9.1 million acres, but the agency is not prohibited from selling part of the land for development or developing parts itself.

“Development and irresponsible land use threaten one of this country’s most spectacular landscapes, Utah’s Redrock country,” Holt said. “America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act would preserve and protect these deep red canyons, windswept mesas, and fantastical sandstone formations for current and future generations.”

“The legislation Congressman Holt and I are introducing today will designate as wilderness some of our nation’s most remarkable, but unprotected public lands,” said Durbin. “This land was chosen based on meticulous research and surveying of thousands of square miles to determine which lands should be protected. America’s Red Rock Wilderness is a lasting gift to the American public that will give future generations the opportunity to enjoy a landscape that so many now cherish.”

The publicly owned wild places of Utah are renowned for their spectacular beauty, with deep, narrow red rock canyons, fantastic sandstone arches, tremendous open vistas, and wild rivers. Currently, only 1.1 percent of Utah’s BLM public lands are protected as wilderness. These areas are a haven for outdoor recreationists, backpackers, hikers, wildlife enthusiasts, and many more. The red rock area is also rich with archeological remnants of prehistoric cultures.

“We are thrilled to have Congressman Holt join Senator Durbin to introduce America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act in the 113th Congress” said Scott Groene, Executive Director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. “Champions of this caliber match the world-class landscapes they are working to protect from oil and gas drilling and off-road vehicle abuse.”

The original version of the America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act was introduced in 1989 by former Utah Congressman Wayne Owens. The bill is based on an extensive survey conducted by volunteers from the Utah Wilderness Coalition (UWC). This public inventory, called the “UWC Citizen’s Proposal,” found that the BLM had overlooked or ignored vast areas of wild country in the agency’s original inventory. As additional inventory work has been conducted for the Citizen’s Proposal, the America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act has been updated to reflect the latest findings. The new version of the bill proposes protections for roughly 9.1 million acres of BLM public land in Utah.

The America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act would ensure the 9.1 million acres in Utah remain wild in their natural state, and strictly prohibit mining, road and dam construction, off-road vehicle use, and other activities that would destroy the area’s special character. Non-consumptive uses such as hunting, fishing, camping, backpacking, hiking, and horseback riding would be permitted and grazing rights existing at the time of any wilderness designation would also be unaffected.

The measure is endorsed by the Sierra Club, the Wilderness Society, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance in Utah, and more than 240 local and national conservation groups with the Utah Wilderness Coalition.

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For those of you who live in the Moab area or will be in Moab this weekend, come celebrate Earth Day at Swanny City Park!

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Obama II: Disappointment Dampens Desire to Hope

Within a month of his inauguration, the President had signed into law a wilderness package protecting over 2 million acres of public land, including 186,000 acres in Utah’s Washington County—lands also proposed for wilderness designation in America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act.  That change thing was looking very good.  But not for long.  Read more . . .

The Land Grab: If You’re Gonna Go Nuts, Go Big

Utah legislators introduced a series of bills this year to advance the governor’s land grab scheme. One of them, HB 142, requires the state’s Public Lands Policy Coordination Office (PLPCO) to study the costs and benefits of transferring public lands to the state and provides $450,000 to fund outside analyses. The bill also requires PLPCO to set up a process by which the state takes title to the land and to detail ways to increase revenue from it.  Read more . . .

Talking about Greater Canyonlands in Utah

The discussion in Utah about the future of Greater Canyonlands got a huge boost in February when Utah state Sen. Jim Dabakis and state Rep. Patrice Arent introduced a joint resolution in the Utah legislature calling on Congress or the President to protect Greater Canyonlands. Two days later, more than 100 Utah wilderness supporters packed a hearing at the Utah State Capitol to support Dabakis’s resolution.  Read more . . .

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