By ben mcadams

We have all heard the comment, "I would lose my bearings and sense of direction without the Wasatch Mountains." Indeed, these majestic, snow-capped giants towering 7,000 feet above our valley floor are a "north star" for the people of Salt Lake County as they bustle about their workweek.

For me, the canyons have also been a compass of a different sort. As a teenager growing up in the shadows of the Wasatch, I frequently escaped the well-planned city grid to explore new trails and hike new peaks. In the company of friends or in solitary isolation, I relished weekend opportunities to lose myself in a canyon or find a hidden body of water.

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During these weekend wanderings, I found my bearings as an individual and mapped the values and character that guide me today. In recent years, my relationship with the Wasatch brings new experiences as I introduce my young children to our mountain oasis. Instead of traversing canyons and summiting peaks, we watch our children boulder around Donut Falls, find colorful or interesting rocks in City Creek Canyon and catch grasshoppers on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. Their enjoyment of the Wasatch is no less than mine, although I look forward to leading our future treks to discover White Pine Lake or to summit Mount Olympus.

We have responsibility as stewards of the Wasatch Canyons to protect and conserve this natural treasure, and the many provisioning and cultural benefits these mountains give us and that we depend upon. When my children are teenagers, I want them to discover our backcountry, to immerse in an excursion following a trail around one more bend or to the next peak and to find their own personal compass in their explorations. The Wasatch Mountains will ever serve as the primary navigational tool for travelers in the Salt Lake Valley. Whether the canyons maintain their same natural value for valley dwellers seeking a compass of a different sort depends on decisions we make today.

I oppose federal HR3452, which would result in the sale of federal land for the SkiLink private development in the Wasatch Mountains. Not only does the legislation violate our cooperative and protective watershed management approach for the Wasatch, it also violates the spirit of community-based decision making that is so valued by the residents of the Salt Lake Valley.

Through decades of public processes establishing the mix of uses and protections for the Wasatch, our greater Salt Lake community has established a delicate balance between preservation, public recreation and existing commercial uses. That balance should be respected.

I believe that any discussions must be transparent and collaborative and should engage the public in concrete and long-term proposals focused on preserving our sensitive watershed areas and pristine backcountry terrain.

Ben McAdams is a state senator representing District 2.