Op-Eds and LTEs from supporters outside of Utah:
“We believe our federal public lands are not just for extractive industry to exploit but are in fact a health resource for our nation — protected as a monument.” – Joan Hoffmann (Vermont), Rutland Herald Letter-to-the-Editor, July 24, 2014
“The oil leases have allowed a spectacular landscape to be fouled by machines that belong in an industrial park or on a brownfield site in a rustbelt city, not at the doorstep to Utah’s finest state park and one of this country’s most unique national parks.” – Bob Hamblen (Maine), Moab Sun News Guest Column, July 16, 2014
“As a former Utah resident, I hope Obama now turns his attention to Utah and protects the Greater Canyonlands area. Without question, Greater Canyonlands is one of the most exquisite and extraordinary landscapes in the world. It is one of our last largely untouched vast Western frontiers, but its beauty remains easily accessible. Spectacular geologic formations, amazing ancestral Puebloan sites and superlative hiking, camping, rafting, climbing and sightseeing offer plenty to see and do.” – Kathryn Brooks (New Mexico), Salt Lake City Weekly Letter-to-the-Editor, June 11, 2014
“Though President Obama has already permanently protected a number of special places, ranging from the historic sites of Fort Monroe, Virginia and Chimney Rock, Colorado to Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands in California, the job of protecting our country’s outdoor heritage is far from finished.” –Jim Baca (New Mexico), Salt Lake Tribune Opinion-Editorial, May 30, 2014
“There is no better place to start than with the Greater Canyonlands region in southern Utah–a landscape of unsurpassed beauty with deep gorges, towering mesas, and a maze of canyons where archaeological artifacts abound.” – Howard Daughenbaugh (Illinois), Bloomington Pantagraph Letter-to-the-Editor, February, 2014
Despite what their elected officials and extractive industry lobbyists keep (loudly) insisting about developing public lands within the state, that is not what the people of Utah appear to want. If those legislators were truly representing their constituents, they would protect the heart of their state—the history harbored in the serpentine labyrinths and the sandstone hoodoos sculpted by the wind. They would support President Obama’s use of his authority to make Canyonlands greater.” – Heather Hansen, (Colorado) High Country News The Range – Opinion from around the West, March 20, 2013
“I support the initiative led by the Outdoor Industry Association and more than 100 businesses to ask President Barack Obama to designate 1.4 million acres of federal wildlands around Canyonlands National Park as a national monument.” – Maria Madrid (Brussels, Belgium), The Salt Lake Tribune Letter-to-the-Editor, January 3, 2013
“I’m saddened that Utah Gov. Gary Herbert is attacking Utah’s federal lands that belong to all of us with his 20 lawsuits against the United States. I hope Obama will help stop that threat by designating the greater Canyonlands region as a national monument.” – Jim Baca (New Mexico), The Salt Lake Tribune Letter-to-the-Editor, December 29, 2012
“We invite those readers who value our wild lands not only for their beauty but also for their contributions to our mental and physical well-being to join us in urging President Obama to honor the Greater Canyonlands region with a national monument designation.” – Howard Daughenbaugh, Jim Bortell & John Freese (Illinois), Pantagraph.com Letter-to-the-Editor, November 24, 2012
“The simple fact of the matter is that the peace and beauty we value so deeply in Greater Canyonlands will gradually be lost unless action is taken to protect the area. A monument proclamation would not close existing well-established dirt roads to responsible four-wheelers like Mr. Swanson, nor should it. Rather, it would ensure that the pristine majesty we both find in Greater Canyonlands today will still be there in the future.” – Arnaud Dumont (Colorado), Boulder Daily Camera Letter-to-the-Editor, March 23, 2012
“President Obama could protect this magnificent area with a stroke of a pen by proclaiming it a national monument, but only if we join our voices together and convince him to act. Success will require a sustained effort from a large number of supporters, including members of the hiking and climbing community. Will you help?” – Doug Yohn (Colorado), The Compass – Colorado Mountain Club Boulder Newsletter, March 2012
“It is time that President Obama recognize the threat and take action to ensure that the wild lands of Utah are unequivocally protected. If he can go beyond the Bush-era land use plans and enforce something better, with an environmentally-sound vision of really protecting the Greater Canyonlands area, then there is the true possibility of preserving these precious lands for future generations to enjoy.” – Judith Sellers (Colorado), Boulder Daily Camera Letter-to-the-Editor, February 29, 2012
“Because Colorado is a critical battleground state in this year’s election, President Obama is paying particular attention to what is important to us. As voters who treasure the natural wonders of our region, let’s take the opportunity to tell him that we want him to act to protect these wonders — especially Greater Canyonlands.” – David Ensign (Colorado), Boulder Daily Camera Guest Column, February 26, 2012
“Barack Obama plans to come West this week to talk about jobs, but he’s missing something if he fails to recognize the deeper values of the land itself. People live in the West because of the mountains and deserts and the recreational opportunities they afford. By protecting these threatened places, Obama could give local communities an economic edge while maintaining a vital and inspiring geography for legions of visitors.” – Paul Andersen (Colorado), The Aspen Times, October 24, 2011
“Mr. President, I still believe that you care about our public lands. Though Blue John Canyon and the Greater Canyonlands region stand yet unprotected, there is something you can do. It is what Theodore Roosevelt did to first protect the Grand Canyon, how Franklin Roosevelt preserved the Tetons, and what George W. Bush did on an unprecedented scale in 2006 in the Pacific Ocean. You can use your authority under the Antiquities Act of 1906: Issue an executive order to designate the million-acre area outside Canyonlands National Park as a Greater Canyonlands National Monument.” – Aron Ralston (Colorado), The Denver Post Guest Commentary, September 24, 2011
