This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
About a year from now, Barack Obama will be packing boxes and getting ready to ship off home to Chicago. On the way out of the Oval Office, will the president leave Utah an Antiquities Act designation? Will he single-handedly (and lawfully) protect millions of acres of Utah public land? Or will there have been a reasonable agreement with Utah officials protecting Utah land, precluding the need for an Antiquities Act designation?
I believe the decision is in the hands of Utah officials.
In the poker game of life, Utah's bluff on public land is about to be called. After serious requests from Utah Democratic leaders, after 30 years of playing politics, Rep. Rob Bishop finally started a process a little over two years ago on a plan for public land in Utah. While it appears the Bishop process has not been particularly inclusive or broad based (no Democrats were included, for example), I am willing to give the congressman the benefit of my doubt. Let's hope for a great plan.
Will the still-secret Bishop Plan be a fair and balanced reasonable approach or will it be another absurd HB148 gobbly-political-goop plan? HB148 was a preposterous (and expensive) Utah law that "demanded"' the federal government turn over 32 million acres of public land to the state of Utah by 2013. Laughable.
Making peace over land is a tough call for politicians around the world. Especially Utah politicians, who have benefited greatly from stirring up the tea party crowd on this issue.
So, will Rep. Bishop transform into a statesman and leave a legacy for future generations of Utahns or will he succumb to the political siren call? Will Bishop keep milking the screwball rhetoric and pointless lawsuits that have cost Utah taxpayers tens of millions of dollars or will he, finally, present a reasonable proposal?
Will sober-minded Utah politicos accept the federal supremacy clause, put on their big boy and girl pants and make a serious, fair proposal? Is it possible for the state to finally end the endless and pointless war with the feds and let Utah move on with its life within the United States?
A serious proposal in my mind must protect 2 million acres in Bears Ears and Greater Canyonlands. It would leave much of Utah's open places unlocked for outdoor recreation, heritage and green tourism. Properly protected, this priceless public land would never be sold off to the highest fossil fuel extractor to be fracked, drilled, fenced, blocked and barricaded away forever.
It's up to you, Congressman. I know it's hard. It's always hard to make peace. But if you can forgo the juicy rhetoric and roll up your sleeves, you can solve a huge festering Utah issue.
But, Rep. Bishop, if you decide the political prize is too hard to give up and you make the Bishop process another loopy political scheme, I will be there pleading on behalf of hundreds of thousands of Utahns, asking our president to do his duty and protect irreplaceable public lands and the sacred heritage in Utah.
Your decision, Congressman.
Sen. Jim Dabakis just returned from three days of meetings in Washington with White House and other officials about the Bishop Plan and the Antiquities Act.