Letter to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States - Opposing Use of Antiquities Act in Utah

Letter

Dear Mr. President:

As you may know, a coalition of environmental groups and non-profit organizations are lobbying the Department of the Interior, the Council on Environmental Quality, and White House staff to invoke Antiquities Act authority to designate a 1.9-million-acre national monument in San Juan County, Utah. As members of the Utah federal delegation, we write to express our opposition to the Administration's use of the Antiquities Act within San Juan County.

Federal land-use policy has a major impact on the lives of those residing within and near federal lands. We believe the wisest land-use decisions are made with community involvement and local support. This principle is true whether skyscrapers or sagebrush surround a community. Use of the Antiquities Act within will be met with fierce local opposition and will further polarize federal land-use discussions for years, if not decades.

Make no mistake, both the State of Utah and San Juan County value our public lands. With that said, public participation in land-use decisions is critical to their long-term acceptance and success; the most effective land management policy is inclusive and engaging, not veiled and unilateral. Knowing this, we have collaboratively developed a proposal that would conserve more than 1.2 million acres of federal land in San Juan County--including iconic locations, such as Cedar Mesa, Indian Creek, and the Bears Ears Buttes. We are prepared to work with the Administration to get this proposal signed into law.

As federal elected officials representing the State of Utah, we speak for the vast majority of our constituents. We do not support the use of the Antiquities Act within our community and ask that the Administration withdraw any plans to do so. Prior to any final action, we request that open and transparent conversations occur between the Administration and the state and local elected officials representing any area under consideration for a unilateral monument designation.