Letter: Tribune’s monument coverage shines light on treacherous schemes
This map, obtained through an open records request to the Utah Department of State History, shows energy resources in and around the Bears Ears National Monument. The orange stripe shows uranium deposits. Most of the coal, oil, natural gas and potash is located to the east of the monument.
Thank you for your excellent coverage of the Utah national monuments controversies, including your report of the intervention by Energy Fuels Resources, a uranium mining outfit that is a subsidiary of a Canadian corporation (credited originally to The Washington Post).
Your two maps, one showing uranium deposits congruent with the new Bears Ears borders (Dec. 13) and another showing the Grand Staircase-Escalante coal deposits (Dec. 10), provide convincing evidence that the new borders are no coincidence.
Instead of listening to local voices as they claimed, such as the native tribes and small business owners, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and the Trump administration clearly listened to international voices of resource extraction industries and their shills.
Please continue to investigate the machinations behind the glib cover stories manufactured by the administration and big-money outside interests.
Kathryn Fitzgerald, Salt Lake City
sltrib.com is now free to access — no subscription required. We made this decision because we believe access to trustworthy, independent news shouldn’t depend on what you can afford — especially as misinformation and AI-generated content continue to rise.
Free to read doesn’t mean free to produce. Our reporters show up every day to ask hard questions and hold powerful institutions to account. That work takes resources. As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on support from people who believe it matters. Make a donation today to fund local news that serves Utah communities.
You can help us bring more local news to more communities today.