Debate: Congressional ‘Anti-Parks Caucus’ is heavy with Utahns ...

Just in time for National Parks Week, celebrating the 100th anniversary of America's Best Idea:

The Center for American Progress has outed what it calls the Congressional Anti-Parks Caucus. Its members include Utah's Sen. Mike Lee and Reps. Rob Bishop, Jason Chaffetz and Chris Stewart. Sen. Orrin Hatch is included in a list of the caucus' "supporting cast."

— The Rise to Power of the Congressional Anti-Parks Caucus — Jenny Rowland | The Center for American Progress

" ... A Center for American Progress analysis found that between January 2013 and March 2016 members of Congress filed at least 44 bills or amendments that attempted to remove or undercut protections for parks and public lands—making the 114th Congress the most anti-conservation Congress in recent history.

"There is no adequate explanation for this erosion in the congressional consensus around national parks and public lands. The transformation does not appear to be a consequence of change in public opinion. Polls indicate that overwhelming majorities of voters support the conservation of national parks and public lands and hold high opinions of the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and other federal land management agencies. ...

" ... The 20 legislators identified in this brief are responsible for espousing anti-parks rhetoric and introducing legislation aimed at weakening protections of lands that are owned by all Americans and important to a majority of Americans. At the heart of these members' anti-park ideology are some common threads: Tea Party affiliation; competition from far-right candidates; and uncompetitive partisan districts...."

— New National Monument and Congressional Anti-Parks Caucus?! — Audrey Peterman | Huffington Post

"I cannot imagine how people live without national parks in their lives. Or how I lived before I knew about them. ...

— Utah Congressman Wants To Sell America's 4th Most Popular Wildlife Refuge To Private Developers — Nicole Gentile | Think Progress

"A new bill to address Puerto Rico's debt crisis is drawing fire over a controversial provision that would enable the sale and private development of thousands of acres in the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge.

"The provision, authored by Representative Rob Bishop (R-UT), would give 3,100 acres of the popular wildlife refuge to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to sell off to private interests. Right now, the wildlife refuge is protected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but in the hands of private interests, it could end up being developed — a scenario that could threaten the species that call the refuge home. ..."

Related:

— State officials should hit 'pause' on coal project — Deseret News Editorial

"As state officials prepare to go ahead with a $53 million investment in a California port to facilitate exports of coal and other materials, some new data about the global coal market ought to give those officials pause, if not lead them to push the "pause" button on the whole plan. The rating agency Fitch reports that China is on the verge of a coal glut and may soon have a surplus of more than 3 billion tons of coal it will try to unload on other countries. That being the case, Utah could be spending serious money to get coal to a port where few if any ships will arrive to pick it up. ..."

— Why Peabody Energy, the world's largest coal company, just went bankrupt — Brad Plumer | Vox

"The US coal industry is imploding. And here's the most spectacular casualty yet: Peabody Energy, the world's largest private-sector coal company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in St. Louis on Wednesday.

"It's hard to overstate what a seismic shift this is. ..."

— Despite wasteful Utah effort, public lands thankfully will remain federal — Steve Bloch | Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance | For The Salt Lake Tribune

" ... It's time for our elected leaders to stop their saber rattling and complaining. These antics not only embarrass our state on a national stage, they also are seized upon by sagebrush rebels and other scofflaws as an excuse to violate federal laws and threaten government officials. Federal public lands in Utah aren't going anywhere, and thank goodness for that."