Utah Wilderness News, March 18, 2011

Conservationists petition for protection of the Greater Canyonlands Region

“Many of the proposed closures are meant to preserve desert waterways where both wildlife and Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites concentrate, and to restore a more primitive experience for float trips in Labyrinth Canyon.

‘Not only is this a fabulously beautiful place,” said SUWA attorney Heidi McIntosh, “but it’s a place with a rich human history.’”  Read more – The Salt Lake Tribune

“SUWA identifies ‘Greater Canyonlands’ as the area including Canyonlands National Park, Natural Bridges National Monument and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Notable landmarks in the area it wants restricted include Butch Cassidy’s Robbers Roost and Labyrinth Canyon, McIntosh said.

‘Protecting the Greater Canyonlands would knit these ‘crown jewels’ together in a complementary system of land management, which protects the most threatened resources, permits native plants and wildlife to migrate freely in response to climate and environmental changes, ameliorates conflicts among ORV users and others, and facilitates a more comprehensive management approach based on watersheds and water conservation,’ the petition says.”  Read more – Deseret News

Wild Lands policy is part of “multiple choice” decision making

“What the BLM’s new wild-lands policy is not is a federal land grab, a charge frequently leveled by Utah’s politicians. How can you ‘grab’ something that is already yours — in this case, property belonging to the citizens of the United States?

In the end, doesn’t it make long-term economic and conservation sense to plan long-term uses for federal land ,just as those of us who own homes do with our property?”  Opinion – The Salt Lake Tribune