I am writing not as a resident but as a frequent visitor to Utah’s spectacular redrock public lands. Since my first visit in 1990, I have made yearly trips to Utah, for the beauty, the peace, the unadulterated landscape. I treasure the petroglyphs, pictographs and remains of cliff dwellings as the historical record of this country before the white settlers moved in and claimed it as theirs. Visitors from around the globe flock to Utah’s redrock canyon country to enjoy unparalleled scenic vistas and explore public lands. I have encountered tour buses with people from France, Spain, Germany, Asian countries, and others — and have always engaged in conversation with some from each bus over the years. Every single one said they were in awe with the vast beauty untouched by man and industry: “There is no other place like it in the world.” I beg you to keep it that way.
Don’t let them drill and destroy this landscape. There is a glut on the market. Oil is being replaced by renewables. Rigs and mines will be abandoned for lack of market, or bankruptcy, and the scars on the redrock will last forever. Protect what you have.
Beverly Benson Wolf, Waterford, Mich.