CO newspaper pans UT pols' plans for federal land grab

"To the west
of us in Utah
a few state lawmakers have ginned up a plan to gain control of federal lands in
that state by a simple means: They want to condemn them. Great. All
the West needs is every state official or local government potentate with a
hankering for money to have the authority to condemn acres and acres of federal
lands and turn them over to private developers." Read more – Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

Climate change denying UT state reps gain international infamy
"Carbon
dioxide is "essentially harmless" to human beings and good for
plants. So now will you stop worrying about global warming? Utah's House of Representatives
apparently has at least. Officially the most Republican state in America,
its political masters have adopted a resolution condemning "climate
alarmists", and disputing any scientific basis for global warming." Read more – London Guardian

A call to protect public lands
"The phrase “public lands" refers not just to access, but to ownership.
Whether monitored and maintained by the Forest
Service, the Bureau of Land Management or any other agency, this
country's public lands are the property of the
American people. As such, the public has every right and reason to
ensure those lands are protected from vandalism,
damage or just plain stupid behavior." Read more – Durango Herald

Follow the dirty coal money…
"Returning the $10,000
donation to Alton Coal and reopening the permit process (including a new
round of public comments) is the minimum that Herbert can do to prove
that his call for ethics reforms is sincere and that favors from his
office cannot be bought and paid for by large campaign donors." Read more – Salt Lake Tribune

Utah's faithful gather at statehouse to testify to the importance of wilderness…

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

…which is a good thing since the Utah Legislature has other, more nefarious designs on our wild public lands

"A pair of Utah County
lawmakers want to pass legislation that would give the state eminent domain
power to take federal lands, including a coal-rich parcel in the Grand Staircase-Escalante
National Monument.  The goal is to incite a court
battle that they believe they can win at the Supreme Court giving Utah the
right to develop the disputed land and generate some $50 billion for the
state's public schools." Read more – Salt Lake Tribune

 

Sen. Udall introduces legislation to bring accountability for public land damage
"The illegal destruction of thousands of acres of public lands in Colorado by off-road vehicles and fires caused by carelessness has prompted legislation that could result in much stronger penalties for those responsible. U.S. Senator Mark Udall, D-Eldorado Springs, and Rep. John Salazar, D-Manassa, announced today that they have introduced legislation in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives designed to deter damage to public lands caused by illegal or reckless activities." Read more – Denver Post

Ogden newspaper pushes back on climate change denial resolution
"We note another time-waster in the Utah Legislature with the House's passage of House Joint Resolution 12, which purports to smack down so-called climate alarmists for their inability to connect global warming with the current downturn in global temperatures. HJR12 is sponsored by Rep. Kerry Gibson, R-Ogden. Gibson is a dairy and crop farmer. A strong backer of the resolution — which urges the Environmental Protection Agency to not regulate pollution attributed to climate change "until a full and independent investigation of the climate data conspiracy and global warming science can be substantiated" — is the Utah Farm Bureau." Read more – Standard-Examiner

Restore sanity and balance to energy development
"Oil and gas production is an important use of America's public lands. But not everywhere and not without scrutiny. Public lands are not a gift bag for whatever the special interest flavor of the month happens to be." Read more – Denver Post

UT legislator peddles paranoia on climate change
"Rep. Mike Noel, the Legislature's chief climate-change skeptic, declared Thursday that global warming is a conspiracy to control world population. The House Natural Resources Committee then approved a resolution that expresses the Utah Legislature's belief that 'climate alarmists' carbon dioxide-related global warming hypothesis is unable to account for the current downturn in global temperatures." Read more – Salt Lake Tribune