This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
In an almost 180-degree departure from the conservation ethics of Teddy Roosevelt, Rep. Rob Bishop's Public Lands Initiative is an insult to successful land management programs that have preserved crucial wild lands for the benefit of the American people for generations.
Bishop's plan is short-sighted and destructive, and he has proven himself unworthy of the task of promoting a lands exchange that is so lopsided in favor of industry and extraction that it reeks of political and industrial cronyism and disregards the environmental heritage of future generations.
At a time when climate change threatens the planet and fossil fuels are known to be the cause, why are conservatives so entrenched in promoting ignorance and intransigence in the face of scientific evidence? And why do modern republicans find the concept of conservation to be so abhorrent? Dismissing the views of the environmental community as "crap" speaks to Bishop's lack of objectivity and an unwillingness to compromise, along with an inability to comprehend the dire consequences of his actions. A statesman he is not.
We need to protect Utah from Utahns like Rob Bishop and the horse thieves in the Legislature. We need a national monument.
David E. Jensen
Holladay