This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated.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.

Following is a quote from a wonderful little book, "The Rediscovery of North America" by Barry Lopez:

"When people have rallied against environmentalism for the restrictions it has brought to impose, they have charged — I'm thinking of loggers in Oregon, and shrimp fishermen in the gulf, and oil drillers on the North Slope — that environmentalists are out to destroy the independent spirit of the American entrepreneur. They have meant to invoke an image of self-reliance and personal responsibility. They have meant by their words to convey this: if something is truly wrong here, we'll see it and fix it. We don't need anyone to tell us what to do.

"The deep and tragic confusion here is that this pose of responsibility, this harkening to a heritage of ennobled independence, has no historical foundation in America. Outside of single individuals and a few small groups that attended to the responsibilities of living on the land and the reciprocities involved, the history of the use of the American landscape has been lawless exploitation. When an industry asks to police itself, we must have the courage to note that there is no precedent, that the entrenched precedent from the time of the Spanish, is the lawlessness in the quest for the wealth, with the extension of enough local generosity to keep from being run out of town, enough respect for institutions to keep from being hauled before the bar, and enough patriotism to be given the benefit of the doubt by society."

We must have the same courage to note and protest when the lawmakers fail to recognize — whether it may be a result of their own myopia or being mauled by the interest groups — that we cannot go on making a living at the cost of our environment and the treasures we have successfully preserved for years.

The proposals of opening Bears Ears National Monument for oil and gas development or Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument hosting a coal mining operation are nothing short of a plunder symbolizing such irresponsible acts and a call for awakening.

I am sympathetic to the cause of a local population segment that might be contemplating job opportunities and improved living if the national monument designation requiring unconditional preservation of these areas is scratched and the oil industries and mining companies are allowed to come in.

I have earned my living off the projects related to and involving drilling and mining throughout my professional career. But I also understand that in many cases we have been wrong, self-centered and short-sighted in the past; that the economic evaluations and predictions of social impact have not turned out to be as originally envisioned; that the damage done by not protecting our wilderness land to the fullest extent is too far-reaching as compared to any short-term gains; and that if in the process of prohibiting and preventing a transformation of our environment into a reflection of our follies, the pendulum swings a little too far on preservation and conservation side — so be it.

In the garb of rosy pictures for creating jobs and uplifting the local economy, these proposals, if implemented, will obliterate the national treasures that we have inherited and hitherto preserved for not just the locals but for all who come to this area. Should we prevail on our lawmakers to think of other options with greater good without taking away from us what we have, or should we just let it be and quietly watch the death of our legacy? That's for us to ponder upon.

Krishna Sinha is a professional engineer and an independent consultant with over 45 years of experience working on oil and gas, drilling and mining related problems and issues across the globe.