In her op-ed about public lands, Salt Lake County Democrat Suzanne Harrison misrepresents both Sen. Lee and his public lands legislation. As an elected official who lives, works and serves Utahns in a rural area, I am disappointed to see another elected official not only disparage our U.S. senator, but mischaracterize his legislation, the Protect Utah’s Rural Economy Act.
Rep. Harrison’s worn out, East Coast-generated talking points on public lands are not theoretical to me. They are real. I have seen, first-hand, how abuse of the Antiquities Act by past presidents has squeezed our city and county budgets, thus putting enormous stress on our local communities. Almost always, this stress is a result of presidential action occurring without ever consulting with those who would be most directly affected by the action.
Utah not only has amazing historical artifacts that we all want preserved, it is full of incredible landscapes. Surely no one wants these landscapes protected more than those of us who live both in and adjacent to these beautiful lands. However, past presidents have shut off millions of acres of land — far beyond what the Act ever intended to do — at the mere “recommendation” of interest groups and unelected bureaucrats living thousands of miles away. These lands may be their occasional playground, but they are also our home. Sen. Lee understands this, which is why his legislation would require the federal government to simply work with local elected officials as an important part of this process. As a local elected official herself, I would think that Rep. Harrison would welcome a process that solicits input from local elected officials, rather than disparage our U.S. senator for creating such a process.
Darin Bushman, Piute County Commissioner, Junction