This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Sen. Orrin Hatch claims that there is damage to our public domain due to Bears Ears being designated as a national monument by President Barack Obama's use of the Antiquities Act — damage that needs to be "undone."

As someone who has been concerned about the well-being of these public lands for a long time — long enough that I've gone all the way to Washington D.C. to plead with Congress and the administration to protect this wonderful area of southeast Utah — I called Hatch's office to find out specifically what damage had been done by this or any other monument designation. After waiting about 10 minutes on hold for the staffer to find his crib notes, the answer I got was simply, "We don't like that President Obama designated this." That's it. More of the same old blind anti-Obama hatred and obstruction. "Damage"? Another Republican lie.

Despite the borders being very similar to Rep. Rob Bishop's in his tainted PLI, the partisan fight is on. They just can't let anything good happen if it's going to be credited to Obama. And that damages our entire nation.

Mike Coronella

Moab