Heather Bennett, VP Board of Education, Salt Lake City School District

James Thompson, a fifth generation Utahn and public high school teacher for 31 years, said that the Governor’s land grab “will destroy the landscapes that inspire, educate and renew us.”  Utah’s public lands “would be thrown open to extraction activities or sold off to the highest bidder in an effort to maximize short-term revenues,” he noted. “Moreover, they would become marred and scarred for generations to come as the state seeks to develop a virtual spider-web or road rights-of-way.”

James Thompson, South Jordan public school teacher and parent

“The Governor is out-of-step with young people in Utah like me,” noted Ethan Lake, a public high school student who who grew up hiking and camping with his family on Utah’s public lands. “We want to see these places safeguarded, not exploited.”

Ethan Lake, high school student

Heidi Chamorro, a law student who attended public schools in Utah all her life, noted that, “Utah’s unspoiled public lands are the main reason why young people remain in our state and why businesses choose to locate here.  If we allow the state to seize control and destroy the beauty that is in our backyard then we will lose what makes Utah such a unique and special place.”

Heidi Chamorro, student, College of Law, University of Utah

For Kids and Lands urges citizens who share their concerns to add their name to the position statement at www.forkidsandlands.org and contact them at forkidsandlands@gmail.com for info about how to support their campaign.

In a filing Monday, the Justice Department said that Congress has the authority to make laws governing federal lands and that the Utah Legislature does not have the power to overturn or supersede those laws and rules.

The federal regulations governing the officers and land have been written to incorporate state laws and local ordinances.

After a conference call with attorneys for the state and federal governments, Judge David Nuffer signed a temporary restraining order blocking the law from taking effect until a June hearing on a longer-term injunction.

Ultimately, the Justice Department is asking the judge to strike down the law as unconstitutional.

This is the first instance where Utah’s loony tunes campaign to take over federal land ran up a against a federal court.   And Utah lost.

Also losing, however, is the Utah taxpayer, who is footing the bill for the state’s attorneys to return to court in June to argue against a permanent injunction — not to mention the 30 lawsuits against the feds that Utah taxpayers are paying for so the state can gain control over so-called RS2477 routes, many of which are little more than old cattle trails and dry stream beds.

As the Salt Lake Tribune declared in an editorial on Saturday:

If the law is eventually nullified, it won’t matter to the quixotic [State Representative Mike] Noel. He seems to enjoy spending Utah taxpayers’ money in court. In fact, he relishes any kind of standoff with federal government agencies and employees almost as much as he likes to thumb his nose at groups trying to protect the natural resources that bring many millions of tourist dollars to the Beehive State every year.

Noel… believes in the outdated philosophy that wide-open spaces are there to be used up and discarded for short-term gain and temporary jobs. He fails to see the writing on the wall: The future mainstays of the Western economy will not be ranching, mining and extractive industries….

Arguing in the Legislature for laws that do nothing but antagonize federal officers and cost tax money to defend in court is not responsible governance. It’s a provincial, last-gasp attempt to control lands that belong to all Americans, not only the Utahns who live near them.

Poking the U.S. Constitution in the eye by ignoring the Supremacy Clause, which elevates federal law above state and local laws, may be fun for Noel, but Utahns should see it for what it is: a waste of time and money that should be spent on solving Utah’s real problems.

The Tribune gets it right. The radical nature of the state’s campaign to “take back” federal lands in Utah will eventually collapse — but not before a ton of taxpayer money is wasted.

Rep. Rush Holt (D-Hopewell) has been a long-time champion for the people and conservation. On April 18, he once again stepped up to the plate as the new lead sponsor of America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, which would protect more than nine million acres of spectacular public lands in Utah from threats including oil and gas development, mining and inappropriate off-road vehicle use.

I thank Rep. Holt for his bold, visionary leadership in seeking to protect these lands that are owned by every American citizen, including all of us in New Jersey. I have hiked in southern Utah and know firsthand the value of preserving the natural, recreational and cultural resources of the region for future generations. The act would leave large undisturbed landscapes intact, helping to reduce the effects of global warming on this dry, desert area.

All of us in New Jersey should applaud Rep. Holt for his commitment to protecting our country’s wild places and, specifically, America’s Red Rock Wilderness in Utah.

– Terry Stimpfel,
Robbinsville
The writer is New Jersey Sierra Club Central Group chairwoman.

May 2013

Here’s what is happening this month with the redrock:
1.  Join Neil Young and Daryl Hannah in our Greater Canyonlands photo campaign.
2.  Bad news for Hatch Point in Greater Canyonlands.
3.  Help increase congressional support for Utah wilderness.
4.  Attend an upcoming redrock event in NJ, NY and CT.

Take a Protect Greater Canyonlands photo! Daryl Hannah and Neil Young did.

Recently, actress/director Daryl Hannah and rock legend Neil Young were in Moab and showed their support for protecting Greater Canyonlands!

Join them by taking a Protect Greater Canyonlands photo!  Click here to print out your own black and yellow sign and then upload your own photo: http://bit.ly/GCCampaign

More ways to get involved this summer:

Our Greater Canyonlands postcard campaign has been a great success!  Staff at the White House Council on Environmental Quality have noticed the thousands of signatures from redrock supporters throughout the country, and we will continue to deliver signed postcards to President Obama throughout the summer.

Sign up to collect postcards in support of protecting Greater Canyonlands from your family, friends and beyond by clicking here.

You can also visit http://bit.ly/GCCampaign to send an email to President Obama, tweet to the White House, ask your friends to like the Protect Greater Canyonlands Facebook page, and more.

BLM green lights potash drilling on Hatch Point

Area of Hatch Point that would be affected by potash development.

The BLM has acknowledged that its current management plan failed to correctly identify areas where oil, gas and potash development should occur.  As a result, the Moab BLM is currently conducting an evaluation of public lands near Moab (known as the Master Leasing Plan process) to correct this defect.  As part of the Master Leasing Plan, the BLM is considering new management constraints for various areas, such as closing the Hatch Point area to leasing.   The BLM’s draft Master Leasing Plan is scheduled for release later this summer.

The BLM’s resolve to rush headlong into a decision to allow potash drilling on Hatch Point illustrates the immediate need for a higher level of protection for the lands in Greater Canyonlands.

Read more on our blog by clicking here.

In April, redrock champions Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) introduced America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, legislation that would protect over 9 million acres of spectacular public lands in Utah.

Currently, the redrock bill has 71 House and 12 Senate cosponsors — those members of Congress who have officially signed on in support of this visionary legislation.  Now, our task is to continue to grow this support during the coming months.  Contact from you — their constituents — is what really makes the difference.

What you can do:

1) Send an email to your members of Congress by clicking here.

2) Sign our petition to Congress by clicking here.

If your members of Congress have already cosponsored America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act (see list by clicking here), please thank them by clicking here.



Attend a Utah wilderness event!


Learn more about Utah wilderness, the Greater Canyonlands campaign, and how you can get involved.  In the coming weeks, presentations will be held in New Jersey, Connecticut and New York.

Click here for the upcoming schedule of presentations and events. To suggest a venue or group for a presentation in your area, please contact Clayton (clayton@suwa.org) in the Midwest and Jackie (jackie@suwa.org) in the East.



Sign the petition to protect Greater Canyonlands

Area of Hatch Point that would be affected by potash development.

BLM’s decision puts the cart before the horse.

The BLM has acknowledged that its current management plan failed to correctly identify areas where oil, gas and potash development should occur.  As a result, the Moab BLM is currently conducting an evaluation of public lands near Moab (known as the Master Leasing Plan process) to correct this defect.  As part of the Master Leasing Plan, the BLM is considering new management constraints for various areas, such as closing the Hatch Point area to leasing.   The BLM’s draft Master Leasing Plan is scheduled for release later this summer.

The BLM’s resolve to rush headlong into a decision to allow potash drilling on Hatch Point illustrates the immediate need for a higher level of protection for the lands in Greater Canyonlands.

*Potash is the common name for mined compounds of potassium in water-soluble form.  It is used primarily as one of the main ingredients in common varieties of fertilizer.

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.

On April 18, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) introduced America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act (S. 769/H.R. 1630), which would protect 9.2 million acres of Utah’s incredible wild canyons, mesas and deserts in their natural state for the benefit of future generations of Americans.

Please thank the members of Congress who cosponsored America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act!

The lands in the bill belong to—and are beloved by—millions of Americans from across the country. So, it’s no surprise that America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act already has 11 cosponsors in the Senate and 67 cosponsors in the House of Representatives—Congress members who hail from 27 different states and the District of Columbia.

Tell your members of Congress that you support America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, too!

Without the incredible dedication of our champs in Congress, as well as the help from activists like you, protecting the redrock would be nearly impossible. Please thank those who stand up for wild Utah today!

And if your members of Congress are not on the list yet, please ask them to cosponsor America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act by clicking here.

(Click here if you have trouble playing the radio spot.)

The following ad ran in The Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News this past weekend: