Open Letter to the Utah Congressional Delegation:
Dear Senators Hatch, Matheson, and Bennett; Congressmen Chaffetz, and Bishop.
The members of PURE and residents of Carbon, Uintah, Emory, Utah, and Duchesne Counties wish to thank you for your united and vigorous defense of Utah's rural economies regarding H.R. 1925, the Red Rock Wilderness Act.
While these issues may seem trivial in light of the many challenges facing Congress, they are not trivial to those of us who support our families with jobs in the mineral, recreation, ranching and other small businesses that make up 70 percent of our economy.
If enacted, this misguided bill virtually guarantees the demise of high quality, sustainable occupations, adequately funded education, multiple use and, ultimately, the health and well being of the federal lands the supporters of this legislation claim to want to protect.
The proponents of H.R. 1925 want Congress to pass this bill, adding more than 9 million acres of land, adding nearly 20 percent to existing wilderness, and denying decades of existing multiple use.
All done without benefit of any other stakeholder input save their own, analysis or maps detailing boundaries.
All done without additional staff or funding for the Bureau of Land Management, as per BLM Director Robert Abbey's testimony during the October 1 hearing.
All done to satisfy the single use agenda of environmental groups like SUWA and their elitist cadre of supporters of CEOS and actors.
We think this is outrageous.
We agree with Reps. Bishop and Chaffetz, who noted that this bill is a waste of time and resources, and is nothing more than a vehicle for groups like SUWA to raise money for their coffers. We should be spending our time finding proper solutions and legislation that will pass, and does not decimate rural economies.
Additionally, we would like to thank ranking member Hastings of Washington, Wyoming Congresswoman Lummis, Governor Herbert, Lt. Governor Bell and Carbon County Commissioner Jones for their thoughtful analysis and comments.
PURE will stand by and with our delegation and supporters to defeat legislation like H.R. 1925 once and for all.
Respectfully,
Eric Mainord
President, PURE
