This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Salt Lake Tribune speaks for me and most Utahns in the recent editorial "Obama should create Bears Ears National Monument."
In fact, the recent State of the Rockies Conservation in the West poll showed that 66 percent of Utah voters support national monument designation for the Bears Ears. This survey, conducted by bipartisan pollsters in conjunction with Colorado College's State of the Rockies Project, shows that monument designation is not widely viewed as federal overreach, despite protests otherwise by Utah's congressional delegation, governor, and Republican state legislators.
Popular opinion notwithstanding, Utah's extraction-fueled politicians dig in deeper, insisting that Utahns don't want any new national monuments. They are spending taxpayer dollars to develop a pointless resolution opposing the Antiquities Act and scrutinize the lawful efforts of 26 tribes and pueblos who seek protection for sacred and threatened landscapes.
Seems that if the facts are on your side, you argue the facts, and if the law is on your side, you argue the law. But if you have neither, investigate the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition.
Kirsten Johanna Allen
Torrey