Chairman Grijalva, Ranking Member Bishop, thank you for providing me with the opportunity to participate in this very important hearing.
As the newest member of Utah’s congressional delegation, I have the benefit of building on the successes of former and current Members of Congress. For example, in Utah the Cedar Mountain and Washington County bills were the culmination of years of hard work, negotiations, and give and take by all parties involved.
I am now emulating this successful model as I proceed with wilderness proposals in my own district. I would encourage the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and Representative Hinchey to do the same: work cooperatively with all the stakeholders, don’t offer up a bill that has been flatly rejected by the overwhelming majority of elected local officials in Utah.
Former Salt Lake City Mayor Anderson mentioned in his testimony that in 2006, over 1.2 million visitors came to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, spending some $99 million (and I question that number) during their visits.
There is no doubt the National Parks in Utah benefit the local economies. However, the economies in my district and other parts of the state also rely on the multiple use aspect of public lands. Small Utah towns that depend on the ranching, outdoor motorized recreation, and energy production would see their economies decimated because of the restrictive burdens created by this bill, the purported America’s Redrock Wilderness Act.
While some may argue that more wilderness acres would attract more tourism to those towns, I would like to reference a recent economic report from the Governor.
In 2007, Utah natural resource and mining based jobs made up 4.0% of our state’s economy and pay a high monthly salary of $5,664. On the other hand, the leisure and hospitality industry makes up 3.4% of the economy, and their salaries average the lowest of any other industry at just $1,258/month.
Utah enjoys one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, and if the Red Rock Wilderness bill were to pass, thousands of well paying jobs could be replaced by low paying, seasonal tourism jobs. Energy production and tourism are not mutually exclusive. They coexist now, and they will coexist in the future. There’s no need to decimate one at the expense of the other.
Now lest I be labeled as someone who wants to tear up our federal lands, I would ask the legitimate question: should certain lands receive extra protections and designations: Absolutely, YES, and I am committed to protecting those areas. But I would like to know what the wilderness alliances “end game” is?
For example, the original BLM proposal was roughly 3 million acres, then SUWA countered with 5.1 million acres, then 5.7 million acres and now we are having a hearing today that would designate 9.4 million Utah acres as wilderness.
If the goal is to designate wilderness in areas truly worthy of that highest and most restrictive designation, then you’ve got a partner. If the end goal is to further inflate the acreage in this bill, thus allowing your organization to exist in perpetuity, then it is going to be a long, rocky road. When will enough be enough?
Further, while roughly 70% of Utah is owned by federal and state government, many states in the east, such as New York, enjoy less than 1% of their government owned land. Perhaps it is time for Representatives from those states to push for wilderness in the east, where it is obviously needed.
When all is said and done, the reality is this; the Red Rock Wilderness Act is an archaic, antiquated model for designating wilderness. An overwhelming majority of Utahns, and Americans for that matter, have rejected the federal one-size-fits-all approach to wilderness in Utah.
I would challenge Mr. Hinchey and SUWA to put aside their environmental fund raising campaigns, which are spawned by this bill, and work for an inclusive solution. Most Utahns would like to see truly pristine lands designated but we must also respect the input of the people whose livelihoods depend on the shared use of federal lands.
Other members in this delegation have shown that all sides are able to come together to achieve both wilderness designations and continued multiple-use access for all; I hope that after today, all parties involved can come together to do the same.
