I write to you as a resident of Wayne County in southern Utah who is staunchly opposed to the president’s reduction in size of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, which is just over Boulder Mountain from my home.
Chris Stewart is my representative in Congress, but in this matter he does not represent me or any of my friends or neighbors who want to protect this beautiful land that we treasure and wish to protect for the enjoyment of all Americans, its rightful owners. Rep. Stewart’s bill would serve only the interests of the extractive industries, industries that have already done much damage to the natural and cultural treasures in Utah — and all in service of dying energy interests that fund his political campaigns, rather than the wishes of his constituents.
The American people have always owned these lands (whether the original Native Americans or the citizens of the United States) and they need to remain available for the common good of all people, not the financial profit of a few.
Additionally, what is the point of sequestering and honoring sensitive resources and archaeologically important native sites (after a long, open and fair process) if that designation can be reversed on a whim?
Let me end by quoting Angel Baca, a cultural resources coordinator for Utah Diné Bikéyah, who reminds us that these lands have “been since time immemorial a place of peace and rest, a sanctuary undisturbed by the kind of colonial violence many other places faced. A revitalization and renewal of spirit prevails here and, like the monument, must be kept intact so that healing, of wounds past and present, can take root and grow.”
Barry Morgenstern, Torrey