This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
The Public Lands Initiative would move our state's beautiful wilderness in a direction we cannot accept.
It comes down to the numbers. The PLI only protects 38 percent of land identified as wilderness by conservationists, missing the mark by 4.4 million acres. Much of the wilderness that the bill claims is given a vague "conservation" designation with room for exploitations, such as fossil fuel development and grazing. The bill double counts wilderness already in protected areas like Arches and Natural Bridges. It ignores traditional tribal interests, refusing the tribal coalition pushing for the Bears Ears Monument.
Obviously, there is money in developing land. As a student starting at the University of Utah as a computer science major, I understand the technical appeal. But the PLI promises a carbon bomb. We should instead invest in renewable energy, thereby aiding Salt Lake City's growing role in the technical world as the "Silicon Slopes."
The PLI just recently passed the House Natural Resources Committee, where claims were again made of a bipartisan, Utah friendly bill — something far from the truth. PLI fails Utah. We must demand more from our representatives and save our beautiful state.
Mark Van der Merwe
Salt Lake City