This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Outdoor recreation has always been a top priority for Gov. Gary Herbert. Far from an agenda that merely promotes "digging holes," as alleged by the Tribune's editorial board, Herbert's proactive recreation policies have turned Utah into a national leader in promoting outdoor recreation and protecting precious landscapes. Under Herbert's direction, Utah was the first state in the nation to create an Office of Outdoor Recreation, an idea now being emulated in states across the country.
Outdoor recreation and energy development need not be a zero-sum game. Balanced management of public lands can allow for a full range of recreational opportunities in Utah's stunning landscapes while still providing for responsible energy development in areas with less scenic or recreational value.
Local residents and leaders in the Moab area successfully achieved this balance with the 2008 Moab Resource Management Plan, or RMP. The tried-and-true planning process outlined in the law brought together people from all across the political and recreational spectrum: environmentalists, potash miners, cowboys, OHV riders, local business owners, mountain bikers, and many more.
Over seven years these local residents worked with BLM officials, the Grand County Council, and the San Juan County Commission to craft a plan for public lands that protected recreation and scenic landscapes while allowing for smart energy development. After numerous open meetings and extensive public input, a truly balanced compromise was agreed upon and put into action.
The 2008 RMP made sure that oil, gas, and potash development would not conflict with recreation or unduly harm the area's famous vistas. While not all parties were completely satisfied with the end result, the RMP insured economic growth in Moab while increasing protections for the region's most treasured landscapes.
Unfortunately, the BLM's newly released Moab Master Leasing Plan, or MLP, ignores the 2008 RMP and imposes new and unnecessary regulations on potential energy development. The long hours and hard work of countless local residents will be lost as the BLM supplants the seven-year-old RMP with the newly invented Master Leasing Plan.
The MLP may well increase the impacts from energy and mineral development. For example, the MLP prohibits the joint development of oil wells and potash mines at the same site, forcing different developments to be spread out over a larger area. Under the 2008 RMP, oil wells and potash mines could be grouped together in dense clusters with shared infrastructure, leaving far more land pristine and undeveloped.
Reps. Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz have recently introduced the Utah Public Lands Initiative in Congress. This locally-driven bill, an authentic public lands compromise, will protect vast tracts of the Moab region as Wilderness Areas and National Conservation Areas. It will expand Arches National Park. And it will allow for greater energy development in areas that see few recreational visitors but have great potential to create new jobs and increase wages for local residents.
Local input has always been essential to the management of Utah's public lands. Area residents successfully fought for balanced land management before, and they continue to do so through the PLI with support from their elected representatives. The BLM's hastily conceived Master Leasing Plan process is not consistent with the law and fails to fully honor the wishes of the people who actually live, work, run businesses and hold public office in the Moab region. The BLM would be well served to work through the legislative process rather than regulate through executive decree.
Before her appointment to the Utah Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office, Kathleen Clarke served as the director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, appointed by President Bush in 2001.