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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
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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.