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Show UTAH WILDERNESS WARS: A LOOK AT THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND, PRESENT SITUATION, AND FUTURE POSSIBILITIES FOR PUBLIC LAND IN UTAH Eric G. Goodrich acres. These groups have been so far apart that compromise has been almost nonexistent. GRAND STAIRCASE-ESCALANTE NATIONAL MONUMENT Rural residents of Utah and their elected officials have often viewed SUWA, UWC, other environmentalists, and more recently, the BLM with more than a little mistrust due to what they have claimed is a history of misrepresenting public land issues for political gain. On September 18, 1996, many people in Utah (particularly the residents of Kane and Garfield Counties) believed their worst expectations had come to pass. Understanding what happened will contribute to an understanding of the current climate of the wilderness debate and the ways in which the different sides disagree on many fundamental principles. In the 1980s Andalex, a Dutch-owned mining company began to express interest in developing its coal leases on the Kaiparowits Coal Field near Kanab. The Utah Office of Budget predicted that Andalex would provide 900 jobs in that part of southern Utah. They also predicted that over the life of the mine, $1 billion would be added to the School Trust Fund when at the time there was only $100 million in the fund (Brown, 2000). The BLM was in the process of conducting an environmental impact study, as required by the National Environmental Protection Act. During that same time, SUWA and UWC members began wearing buttons promoting 5.7 million acres of wilderness, and the "citizens'" wilderness proposal went from 5.3 million acres to 5.7 million acres (Brown, 2000). Some observers have since charged that SUWAs original proposal left out the area where the coal mine would have been because it was not considered worthy of wilderness designation; its wilderness characteristics were only "discovered" in order to try to kill the proposed mine (Brown, 2000). SUWA had also been filing lawsuits and appeals to challenge every step of the legal process that was underway. Environmental advocates (including SUWA) began to pressure the Department of the Interior and the White House to create a monument, and White House officials soon responded by beginning to work behind the scenes on plans to create a monument (Brown, 2000). Before long, news of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) was leaked to the press (Brown, 2000). When Utah Senators Hatch and Bennett called Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt to ask about such rumors, they were assured that nothing would happen without talking to Utah officials first (Brown, 2000). Later, natural resource staffers from the Utah delegation met with members of the Council on Environmental Quality, Solicitor General John Leshy, and the BLM; all of who said there were no plans to go forward with a monument, claiming they didn't even have a map (Brown, 2000). After the meeting was over, the Utah delegation staff members turned on their TV monitors and watched breaking news reports on CNN that the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument would be proclaimed the next morning (Brown, 2000). CNN showed a graphic of the map that White House officials had said did not exist. Under authority of the Antiquities Act, President Clinton had proclaimed a monument of 1.8 million acres 14 bigger than some eastern states 14 without notifying local officials. The mistrust that rural Utahns had towards environmental groups and the government ballooned considerably because of the perception that wilderness advocates had secretly influenced the creation of an enormous monument in order to kill a coalmine and lock up the surrounding land. By declaring Grand Staircase-Escalante a monument, President Clinton scored political points with powerful environmental constituency groups in an election year. Adding to the furor was the fact that the federal government had lied about it (Brown, 2000). JJ. Brown, Legislative Advisor to Senator Orrin Hatch on the issues of natural resources and environment, showed me pictures of the proposed mine site. He was convinced that the area was not worthy of wilderness designation for the simple fact that it possessed no outstanding features for recreation or scenic value; the majority of the rural residents affected by this monument seem to agree with that assessment. While the proposed mine made up only a small portion of what was included in the monument, citizens felt they had been lied to and were tired of what they viewed as wilderness advocates and government leaders dictating how they had to manage the land that was so much a part of their everyday lives (Brown, 2000). They felt that at the very least, local leaders should have been notified of plans to create a monument. Additionally, local advocates argued that they should have been heavily involved in the planning and organization of the monument in order to minimize negative impacts on the residents in the surrounding areas. Louise Listen, County Commissioner of Garfield County said in reference to the monument's formation, "Today's decisions are being made by outlaws with pens who are more fearful than outlaws with guns" (Kemp, 2000). SUWA, on the other hand, was ecstatic, and even claimed some of the credit. In their own words, they said they had "laid the groundwork for the establishment of the monument" (SUWA, pamphlet). The area to be mined had never even been considered by SUWA, the BLM, or anyone for designation (Brown, 2000). However, the fact that the proposed mine was on the Kaiparowits Plateau was enough for SUWA and other wilderness advocates to try to stop any attempt to gain access to the plateau. They believed that such access would only open the door to more development. SUWA Grassroots Coordinator, Keith Hammond said, "I think the way Clinton did it was wrong - they lied to the Utah delegation" (Hammond, 2000). He went on to say, however, that while he disagreed with the methods, he was happy about the result - permanent protection for the Grand Staircase-Escalante area. More recently, Liz Thomas, a staff attorney for 36 |