This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
The oil business is boom or bust. When it is boom, oil companies must have more workers, so they pay high salaries to workers they can get. When it is bust, people are let go. Most workers are not usually put on retainer.
The world's situation can change overnight (causing boom or bust in oil field needs) or remain unchanged for a long period of time (usually bust in America).
Rep. Rob Bishop wants to take some money from a land-protection program to educate/supply workers as needed by oil companies. Can't oil companies pay for their own workers ahead of time and hold on to them? Will workers be protected in a bust period? Will future beautiful land for all Americans suffer from this? Will protected land have to be sold off to pay to maintain the rest?
Even though Bishop is not my Utah representative, I am disappointed in him and feel he is not looking out for all of his voters in this matter. New ideas for "land user fees" are good to stop waste but not to pay for overhead of oil companies' needs.
B. Morgan
Salt Lake City