This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
If there is a single positive result from the recent government shutdown, it has to be that the Utah Legislature has finally seen the economic (if not the intrinsic) value of Utah's state and national parks and public lands, their attraction for tourists and the direct benefit of tourism and outdoor recreation on rural economies and area businesses.
For their own selfish reasons, our development-minded, anti-wilderness legislators would love nothing more than to get their greedy hands on Utah's five national parks and other federal lands.
If that were to ever happen, we'd be able to visit the Grand Staircase Coal Mine National Monument, the San Rafael Swell Memorial Fracking Park, and the Greater Canyonlands Big Oil and Potash Recreation Area.
Energy is temporary. Tourism is forever.
David E. Jensen
Holladay