Ironically, Fort Lewis College passed a resolution in 2015 to support the Bears Ears National Monument in an effort to “protect” this important Utah area; yet students in 2016 obviously have not bought into the concept of protection. The incident, in which FLC students vandalized ancient ruins, further illustrates the fact that moral behavior and care of Mother Earth cannot be legislated or designated, no matter how many millions of dollars the Conservation Lands Foundation dumps into the Bears Ears monument campaign.
Land can best be cared for and protected by those who actually use it, live by it, and love it — not by visitors who know nothing of the culture and history of an area. It also illustrates that just because vandalism happens in Utah, does not mean it is caused by Utah citizens.
We decry the name calling and exaggeration the foundation has used in its quest to illegally seize yet more Utah land for its personal style of protection. Its style includes “cattle free by 23”, “lock up all natural resources,” “overrun the land with tourists”, “promote funhoggery”, and “locals be damned.”
The National Park Service deferred maintenance has been backlogged for years, and in 2014 reported a staggering backlog of needed maintenance totaling more than $11.5 billion nationwide. This includes over $278 million for Utah parks alone. Can the federal government really take care of a monument this size when it can’t manage the monuments it already has? Or is this land just being used as collateral so that a foreign country can utilize our resources when they bail us out of our $20 trillion debt?
The inter-tribal coalition, in making this proposal, disregards 18 land-use planning efforts by San Juan County, Utah, The Bureau of Land Management, the National Forest and the Navajo Nation. The tribes are being used as puppets by the Conservation Lands Foundation which has made promises it cannot keep.
Conservation, and preservation begin at home. Look at your own back yard, your property and how you use your resources, then choose leaders who live what they preach.
Janet Wilcox
Blanding
