Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and other public lands are now up for oil/gas leasing. It’s not surprising that the process is happening behind closed doors either. This administration can’t stop crossing the line with what’s legal and what’s unprecedented.
I recently spoke at a rally at the Salt Palace Convention Center to stand against shrinking our national monuments and further exploitation of those places driven by new federal recommendations that would streamline the process for oil and gas leasing. We won’t stand for this exploitation.
The Department of the Interior is nixing public input to prop up dirty fuels interests again. Dirty fuels are outdated in the face of sustainable alternatives and a detriment to our changing climate.
The memo places too much power for leasing in the hands of industry — not in the places nor with the people it will ultimately affect; not in the hands of the people who rallied this morning and have connections there.
This action is another egregious move to turn environmental departments into welfare agencies for polluting industry. It is clear Sec. Zinke is not interested in conducting a fair process whatsoever. Instead, he’s selling off public lands in the most opaque way.
Eliza VanDyk, Salt Lake City