New National Monuments?

According to the Salt Lake City Tribune (and New West), and sourced from 'leaked' documents, we may see quite a change on the local landscape in the near future.

I'm all for protecting natural resources, but unilaterally through the federal govt., esp. this federal govt.? No thanks.

Thanks for the info on this, John. I suppose this is a two edged sword. I've seen a lot of abuse in both of the Utah areas and suppose the extra funding might help. I've never been to Vermillion Basin and may have to go there now before the crowds and controls hit.

Ooooh, people get so lathered up about protecting our most special places - just like when Yellowstone was created. It's a relatively small, yet bold step that is sorely needed. Some places are simply too wild to log, develop, drill, etc. and that's one of the roles of gov't. Vermillion is part of the massive Dinosaur complex, not a separate chunk of land - of course it warrants our protection. There will be no stampede to Vermillion, determined scientifically and locally to be of wilderness quality, and long threatened by gas drilling.The West has been fragmented to the breaking point and thankfully, our land managers are working to conserve wild corridors. Maybe there's a chance we'll recognize The West in 20 years.

Right on Dave!

I'm all for protecting natural resources, but...

There's always a but, isn't there Todd! So you're all for protecting natural resources, but not if Obama's administration does it. Sounds like the typical knee-jerk politics here, reason be damned.

Awesome shot Dave!

One more thought about the process for land conservation - it starts as a seed at a local conservation meeting. A few committed folks that love an area for its special qualities, talking about the threats to habitat and wildlife. Maybe it's Big Oil, a proposed transmission line, or out of control ORV use. Seemingly innocuous threats can be the tipping point for a species. These people spend years getting support, someone to hear what's happening and what may be lost - forever. They enlist scientists to study the land, inventory species and objectively determine whether the area is of wilderness quality. After thousands of hours of volunteer field work, photography, pettioning, writing, speaking at local events, they get a politician to listen. They present their case. Years later, this grassroots effort may gain federal protection for a relatively small piece of habitat, an area large enough for a sage grouse lek, an elk herd to roam, and for people to simply listen to the silence. All because a few locals gave a damn and took a chance that their voice, and science would be heard. It's the exact opposite of top-down, unilateral policy.

Anyone of us that isn't outraged by what has happened to The West hasn't been paying attention.

Wow!! Some extreme statements being made by folks on both sides of this issue here. When folks start stating things in a "the sky is falling/will fall if this is/isn't done" manner, it make me highly unlikely to give consideration to their point of view. Maybe this topic should be moved to the Hot Topics forum instead??

Get involved, understand the isues, make a difference with photography. There's nothing political about protecting our western heritage. And by the way, every single conservation group in The West favors responsible extraction of natural resources and development of clean energy. Things are complicated.

I'd heard news-bites about this. Thanks for the links with more info. I look forward to seeing the conservation of these wild places.

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. ~Native American Proverb

I think the additions to the NPS/NM system would be worthwhile, but I'd sure like to see some funding help to the NPS, BLM and FS before adding to their workload. Reportedly alot of stimulus funding went into the NPS to work their backlog, but they need a permanent funding supply that supports their operational needs.

The San-Rafael Swell has always looked intriguing in the few photos I've seen and Cedar Mesa is a really cool area worth protecting. In fact I'm surprised that Cedar Mesa wasn't protected under the antiquities act long ago due to the concentration of ruins in the area.

Um, no, Jack, that's not what I said, and you know it. While I overstated my "all for," which left out any consideration of local control, cost-benefit analysis and the like (very important), my reservations are not limited to the Bamster's administration of it. They do worry me more, since surely it's not a stretch to say that this administration would consider cost-benefit analysis less important and satisfying environmental constituencies more important, or local control less important and Federal control more important, than a Republican administration, is it? I love GS-E NM, but Clinton went about it the wrong way. I'd like to avoid a repeat.

Todd is right on except that he didn't go far enough. We are broke. We do not have any
money to study the areas, let alone administer them. Because of the hugh debt we
have incurred, and the new debt that is on the way, we are not in a position to manage
any new real estate no matter how beautiful it is. Who has any nominations for existing
National Parks or Monuments that we could sell to raise money to manage any new ones?

Well, interesting how the "real estate" managed itself for eons just fine before we came along and mucked things up. I'm not at all happy about our nation's debt, but i am happy that at least some care about preserving our natural areas--i was just watching a documentary on Palm Oil Plantations wiping out the rainforests in Indonesia--the official position of the govt. there is that the forests need to be all cut down because they're not profitable, while Palm Oil is. I'll take Republicans, Democrats, whatever over that attitude....

Should it mattter, I'd like to clearify any misunderstanding of my statement as well. All of these areas are at risk of further damage if they are not administered more closely. If it takes a presidential proclamation to convert these places to a National Monument designation, so be it. The Clinton political ploy over the GSC NM took place near election time. I'm just not seeing this with obama, but I'm not sure that it really matters if the end result is better protection. It is better than a congressional rehashing for a long period of time. Sure there are details to quibble over, but the concept is good. And I have to think that our BLM system of land management is broken.

It might not be true for all of the areas, but I think the risk of increased tourist attention and further development for ease of access is probably real, but secondary to the issue. I've visited the Cedar Mesa area for around 20 years. I guess by Colorado tourism standards, it's still fairly isolated, but it's common to see several groups of people in many semi-remote areas where there were none just a few years ago. If the NM designation increases it's popularity and access, I guess that's a reasonable trade-off if it better regulates pot hunters, vandalism, and recreational abuses.

Well that's a nice, polite, balanced story out of Salt Lake. In three paragraphs we're treated to loaded language like "snatch," "unearth" and "firestorm." I'd call it a front-page editorial, and I ain't buying it.

I've spent some quality time in the San Rafel Swell, a nd swell it is. I can't think of another large BLM property on the Colorado Plateau that shares such outstanding scenery, primitiveness, easy access and growing visitor numbers. I'd be very happy to see the area get more supervision and attention, where appropriate.

Well that's a nice, polite, balanced story out of Salt Lake. In three paragraphs we're treated to loaded language like "snatch," "unearth" and "firestorm." I'd call it a front-page editorial, and I ain't buying it.

I've spent some quality time in the San Rafel Swell, a nd swell it is. I can't think of another large BLM property on the Colorado Plateau that shares such outstanding scenery, primitiveness, easy access and growing visitor numbers. I'd be very happy to see the area get more supervision and attention, where appropriate.