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Show ms ka i ssaawae i The Salt Lake Tribune, Sunday, May 28,1995 aaa Litt : SSRRSESS SSSR SSE SS SG00800GeccCeCe0 e0ueccaeeeeE AN OPEN LETTER TO OUR CONGRESSIONAL AND STATE LEADERS ABOUT UTAH’S WILDERNESS: ENSURE UTAHW’S PROSPERITY: PROTEC T OUR WILDERNESS, ; exe PLUNDER auy TO: FROM: GovernorLeavitt, Senator Bennett, Representative Hansen, Representative Orton, Senator Hatch, Representative Waldholtz Utah Citizens Concerned About Wilderness As youtry to determine how muchof Utah's magnificent redrock country should be pro- tected as designated wilderness, please recognizethe profound, long-term consequencesof your actions. What you decide nowwill affect the prosperity of our children and grand- children. In choosing your course, don’t become mired in past assumptions about what ensures a robust economyin this great state. Wecan nolongerrely on extractive industries as wehave historically. Beautiful lands unsullied open spacesare whatwill support the and enterprises that will provide abundantfuturejobs for us and our descen- dants. Ultah’s spectacularlandscapeattracts people both as visitors and residents. America’s wildlands are dwindling rapidly. Utah has seen its once-vast wildernesssteadily shrink and succumb to development. Whatlittle remainsof our natural herita ge should be preserved notjust becauseofits economic potential but becauseofits great intrinsic value as well. Our pristine landis a gift that, once lost, can never be replaced. TheSan Rafael Swell, Grand Gulch, Dirty Devil, Cedar Mesa, Escalante, Kaiparowits Plateau, and ourothertreasuredplacesarelike classic paintings: they cannot be improved, only defiled. With 90 percent of Utah already available for mining,orfor off-road vehicles,or for reservoirs, why should wesac- Tisuuwanana]| Tifice anyofthe remaining 10 percent? We would be trading questionable, short-term financial gains for permanent aesthetic, cultural and economic impoverishment. gressional del- egation, a clear majority of peoplecalled upon youtoset Attrecent hearings before Utah’s Con- aside 10 per- cent of Utah as alegacyfor our children. We, the under- signed, urge you to support H.R. 1500, America’s Redrock Wilderness Act. Protecting 10 percent won't cost a single job | in Southern Utah. Ninety percentofthe landwill be left for houses, roads, farming, mining, logging, touristfacilities, and the host of activities already there and yet to come. We hope | that as leaders of Utah, you will do everything youcanto provide the best possible economy| es ee Oe and environment for those whofollow us in our rural areas as well as our cities. Please ty have the vision to look beyond yesterday’s policies and practices andfar over the horizon into the promise of tomorrow. Our redrock wildernesswill be the key to that bright future. SINCERELY, Riley Cutler James Hinckley Stephen Eccles Denkers Janice Hinckley Frances Farley Robert Hinckley Mike Matheson Mark Matheson Peter Metcalf Ann Milliken John Milliken Randall Tolpinrud H Ted Wilson LawrenceA. Young py a is Photos, top to bottom: Escalante River, Fred Swanson; Mexican Bend and Mexican Mountain, San Rafael, Fred Swanson; San Rafael, Tom Miller; Little Wild Horse Canyon, San Raphael, Bob Bauer D7 |
