In search of a solution for protecting lands: What Utah can learn from Idaho and Nevada

Public lands in eastern Utah are at a crossroads. Ahead lies a field of options that range from oil and gas development to wilderness designation, the highest level of land preservation afforded by U.S. law. Just weeks ago, similar situations existed for lands in Idaho and Nevada that ended with completely different outcomes — one played out in the public eye, the other quietly and ending in sudden bewilderment for those nearby. And if there's anything the experience of Utah's neighbors can tell, it's that either outcome could unfold for the places Utahns want to protect. Eventually, the state will join others in shouldering the consequences — good or bad — of what is decided in Washington, D.C. "That's what makes the West's public lands issues interesting is you have three sovereign powers: You've got tribes, states and the federal government. And getting them all aligned in their interests or negotiating between all those interests is not without its difficulties," said Joanna Endter-Wada, professor and program director for the National Environmental Policy Act graduate certificate program at Utah State University. "It all has a history," she said. In the next few weeks, Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, who is chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources, plans to finish drafting his public lands initiative and bring it to the House floor. It's a bill that represents three years of negotiation for a monument designation, wilderness, conservation areas and sites for oil and gas development. At the same time, tribal leaders from the area are calling on federal executives to enact a higher protection for an area in San Juan County known as the Bears Ears, about 1.9 million acres of what they say are culturally "sacred" lands deserving of a national monument designation under the Antiquities Act. Those tribes say they've had little or no opportunity to weigh in on the public lands initiative, but Bishop said the "threat" of a monument designation by President Barack Obama could unravel the larger plan for the preservation and use of millions of acres in other areas. It's a threat Utah isn't alone in facing...more