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Letter: Despite Trump's monument rhetoric, hope lies in fighting for the Earth

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded by Utah representatives at the Utah Capitol on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, as he signs two presidential proclamations to shrink Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.

Re: “Trump greeted by thousands of Utah protesters” (The Tribune, Dec. 4):

In his speech at the state Capitol, President Trump asserted that shrinking the size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase national monuments would bring in a “bright new future of wonder and wealth.” As thick smog forms in our Salt Lake Valley, it is hard to imagine how opening up protected lands to fossil-fuel extraction would bring any type of brightness to our polluted Utah skies.

In reducing the size of our national monuments, the places of wonder will no longer be public treasures. Instead our canyons and burnt cliffs will “belong” to private, fossil-fuel companies.

Our open lands are what makes Utah wealthy. We are rich in geographical diversity and to destroy our wealth for extraction of fossil fuels appeases the smallest percentage of Utahns. Steven Dunn’s comment gives me hope that all who love our land will step up now and “fight for the Earth.”

Ashley Brown, Park City