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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING FEDERAL

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LEGISLATION TO REDUCE OR MODIFY THE

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BOUNDARIES OF THE GRAND STAIRCASE-ESCALANTE

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NATIONAL MONUMENT

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2017 GENERAL SESSION

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STATE OF UTAH

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Chief Sponsor: Michael E. Noel

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Senate Sponsor: Ralph Okerlund

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10     LONG TITLE
11     General Description:
12          This concurrent resolution urges Utah's congressional delegation to support legislative
13     actions to reduce or modify boundaries of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National
14     Monument.
15     Highlighted Provisions:
16          This resolution:
17          ▸     expresses opposition to the manner in which the Grand Staircase-Escalante National
18     Monument (GSENM) was designated;
19          ▸     identifies the benefits resulting from modified or reduced boundaries of the
20     GSENM; and
21          ▸     urges Utah's congressional delegation to support legislative actions to reduce or
22     modify the boundaries of the GSENM.
23     Special Clauses:
24          None
25     

26     Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
27          WHEREAS, the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) was created
28     in 1996 by Presidential Proclamation 6920 without any input or support from Garfield or Kane
29     counties, their citizens, their public officials, or the state of Utah;

30          WHEREAS, the GSENM was created without consideration of roads, local economies,
31     customs, culture, and heritage;
32          WHEREAS, the GSENM has resulted in diminished grazing rights, energy and mineral
33     rights, public road access, state trust land properties, and resource use and preservation;
34          WHEREAS, for more than 20 years, the GSENM has had a negative impact on the
35     prosperity, development, economy, custom, culture, heritage, educational opportunities, health,
36     and well-being of local communities;
37          WHEREAS, establishment of the GSENM has resulted in a 44% reduction in Escalante
38     High School enrollment (from 151 to 67) since September 1996;
39          WHEREAS, establishment of the GSENM has resulted in loss of business opportunity
40     and out-migration of families, workers, and jobs;
41          WHEREAS, boundary adjustments are authorized by law and are needed to protect the
42     prosperity, health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Garfield and Kane counties;
43          WHEREAS, boundary adjustments identified by Garfield and Kane counties are
44     essential to the protection of health, safety, welfare, prosperity, custom, culture, and
45     commercial opportunities for their citizenry;
46          WHEREAS, boundary adjustments identified by Garfield and Kane counties are
47     necessary for optimizing multiple use and sustained-yield, including:
48          • access to public lands;
49          • commerce;
50          • development and protection of natural resources;
51          • traditional recreational resource values;
52          • traditional cultural and historical values;
53          • agricultural livestock and forest products industries; and
54          • other activities vital to the custom, culture, and well-being of the area;
55          WHEREAS, the designation of lands as monuments has reduced the ability to actively
56     manage for land health issues such as vegetation treatments, erosion control, water
57     management, grazing management, wildlife management activities, and invasive plant control;

58     and
59          WHEREAS, a myriad of federal laws enacted since the passage of the Antiquities Act
60     of 1906, such as the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, the National Environmental
61     Policy Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, and the Endangered Species Act,
62     can be used to protect and preserve the antiquities and other important resources in the
63     GSENM:
64          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
65     Governor concurring therein, urges Utah's congressional delegation to support legislative
66     action to reduce or modify boundaries of the GSENM to the minimum area necessary to protect
67     antiquities identified in Presidential Proclamation 6920.
68          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and Governor direct Garfield and
69     Kane counties to consult with the Bureau of Land Management and create mapping of the
70     minimum acreage necessary to protect antiquities identified in Presidential Proclamation 6920.