Utah Counties: Monument Reductions Are About Mining

 by Tim Peterson, Utah Wildlands Director

Public relations in politics can be a tricky business. Talking points for the media and voters are important and savvy politicos say what they must to win in the court of public opinion. The message presented to the public, however, can sometimes be a threat to assertions made in a court of law, where one’s genuine arguments must be stated clearly in court filings.

Last week provided a prime example of Utah politicians’ conflict between talking points voiced in the court of public opinion and their actual positions as pleaded in a court of law. 

Filing motions to intervene in lawsuits filed by the tribes and the Grand Canyon Trust challenging the legality of President Trump’s unprecedented action to gut Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, three southern Utah counties — Kane, Garfield, and San Juan — revealed their real motivations for supporting attacks on Utah’s monuments.  

The counties are represented by the Mountain States Legal Foundation, a law firm that bills itself as fighting for “individual liberty, property rights, limited government and the free enterprise system.” By seeking to intervene in the lawsuits, the counties want to back up the president’s monument cuts.

Let’s take a look at talking points delivered by Utah politicians for the public, and then contrast them with lines delivered last week to the judge. 

“Greedy energy tycoons”

The media spin: “…some on the Left and in the media have attempted to portray supporters of this [monument reduction] as greedy energy tycoons…” –Utah Senator Orrin Hatch

The court filing: “The most obvious economic harm caused by the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is the impact from its prohibition on mining. The land on which the Monument sits contains Utah’s largest source of coal — 62 billion tons worth, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.”

Coveted mineral wealth

The media spin: “Mineral resources beneath Bears Ears are scarce. There is no developable oil and gas… The integrity of the Bears Ears landscape, long kept intact before the creation of the monument, will almost certainly remain intact after Trump’s announcement.” –Utah Governor Gary Herbert

The court filing: “The area in and around Bears Ears is rich in oil, gas, coal, and uranium deposits.”

Mining, logging, grazing

The media spin: "This idea that somehow there will be some wholesale development" in the reduced monuments is a myth. "There is a lot of scaremongering." –Governor Gary Herbert

The court filing: “[San Juan] county is enjoying the economic and cultural benefits of increased access to federally controlled land for productive uses such as mining, logging, and livestock grazing…”

Try as they might, anti-monument Utah politicians can’t have it both ways. Say what you will in the court of public opinion; in the court of law, you’re legally bound to tell the truth. 

Are you ready for the buried lede? The court filing reads: "Upholding President Trump's modification of the Bears Ears National Monument will prevent the sorts of job losses and other harms suffered by neighboring Kane and Garfield counties under the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, safeguarding San Juan County's economy, community and culture."

But has Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument really led to job losses?

Not according to the data. The local economy actually grew after the monument’s 1996 designation, per capita personal income is on the rise, and jobs in mining, timber, and agriculture are all holding steady.

Last week’s legal filings touting drilling and mining as reasons to slash Utah monuments are not an isolated data point. Reporting by the New York Times revealed that oil and gas were on the minds of Utah officials as early as March 2017 as justification to remove protections, and the Washington Post exposed lobbying by a uranium producer to cut Bears Ears as well. 

There is legislation in the United States Senate that would quash this back-and-forth and solve these issues once and for all, and it needs your support. Senator Tom Udall’s S. 2354, the ANTIQUITIES Act of 2018, would restore Grand Staircase-Escalante, restore and expand Bears Ears, and secure 25 other national monuments still under “review” by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. Call your senators today and let them know that you support S. 2354, and that you want them to take action to preserve our irreplaceable national monuments. Don't have your senator on speed dial? Find your senator's phone number ›

Building the strongest cases possible to restore Bears Ears and Grand Staircase in court, conducting necessary research in the field, and sharing information and opportunities to take action with supporters like you are among our top priorities at the Grand Canyon Trust. Thank you for your continued support.

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