It’s no surprise that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has recommended to rescind national monument status for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante. The southern Utah county commissioners, state legislators and governor of Utah have been proverbially licking their wounds since 1996 when the Grand Staircase monument was enacted.
Can you imagine being consumed with revenge for 21 years to undo something that has ended up being economically beneficial? Never mind that Trump is a gentile who is absolutely morally and ethically corrupt. The Utahns were going to win by hook or crook.
The back-door deal with Zinke was always going to be the outcome. We the people never had a chance. Never mind that residents of Utah and the rest of the country had an overwhelming in favor response to keep the monuments intact.
Luckily, Trump has no legal authority under the Antiquities Act to undo or significantly alter monuments that were designated by previous presidents and multiple organizations are ready to take it to court. They will be in court for years, costing the federal and state governments millions.
I didn’t know we had money available to fight yet another useless lawsuit.
Guess the school kids can suffer another year or more, right?
Rebecca Himsl
Sandy