I know that Congressman Stewart will not actually read this letter, but a member of his staff will, I would like to make my objections known, even if it is just as a statistic, that I strongly oppose President Donald Trump’s order to scale back the size of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in the state of Utah.
I am a Utah native, living and working in Cedar City for most of my life, and graduated from Southern Utah University with a bachelor of science in history. As you know, Utah is approximately 65 percent composed of federally protected lands, for good reason, Utah is one of the most aesthetically pleasing and culturally significant states in these United States; I know this because I have traveled all across the USA as well as the majority of this earth’s continents. Utah is still my favorite place in the world. Scaling back the size of these great monuments in order to rape the land for mining purposes, or to sell the land to any private entities, is simply unacceptable, and is nothing more than government succumbing to corporate greed. Our job as Westerners is to cherish and protect the natural resources we are so fortunate to be entrusted with; we cannot, and must not allow anyone to tamper with the beautiful and historically important land over which we have stewardship.
These resources must remain open to the public to responsibly enjoy and protect. Make no mistake, rolling back the size of these monuments will benefit no one other than the people who stand to make a dollar from pillaging and destroying Utah’s natural resources. Utah is a tourism state, known for our beautiful landscapes and outdoor activities, I want to see Utah continue to be such a destination – for present and future generations. I would like to see my representative fight corporate greed by returning Utah land to the citizens of Utah and not to private entities. I am also a veteran of the United States Army. I fought for this country in close combat as a paratrooper, a member of the 3/509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the mountains of Afghanistan, against a competent and dangerous enemy, seeing some of my friends killed in action in the process. The president’s actions in scaling back these monuments are a direct affront to everything I fought for.
Letter sent in by
Tyvan Rollins
