I love Utah. But as a frequent visitor to this very unique and special piece of America, I’ve learned that not all Utahans are particularly fond of folks like me who support protection of our collectively owned public lands.
This lesson was made perfectly clear by a couple of gentlemen in a Monticello restaurant who objected to the opinions, and indeed the very presence, of “folks who are not from around here.”
This kind parochial disdain for outsiders is not unique. Some of my fellow Alaskans, for example, regard the mantra, “We don’t give a damn how they do it outside” to be a fundamental characteristic of their version of our state’s persona.
So I get it. I understand that my individual voice is not universally regarded as being as relevant as that of a multi-generational Utahan. My voice, however, is part of the cacophony raised by the 300 million participants in this nation’s commitment to representative democracy.
As inconsequential as my opinions may seem to some, these opinions are the product of a 45-year love affair with our nation’s red rock country, including a deep admiration for the indomitable pioneers who braved the Hole-in-the-Rock Trail and a deep respect for the indigenous cultures that have existed on these lands for millennia.
Inevitably, the interface between regional parochialism and a national determination of the greater good for the greatest number will be a nexus around which future discussions regarding management of public lands will be balanced.
As our society continues, albeit erratically and imperfectly, to follow what historically has been a mostly positive evolutionary trajectory, I am cautiously optimistic that ultimately future generations of Utahans will address the management of public lands in a manner that embraces values not currently accepted by those gentlemen in that Monticello restaurant.
Tom Yeager, Girdwood, Alaska
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