Dear Editor:
One of my wife’s favorite family stories revolves around her father and grandfather in 1944. On leave
from World War II, where he was a turret gunner in a B17 bomber over Germany, her father and grandfather traveled from Fremont to Fruita, Utah, on horseback.
He is now 95, and this horseback trip in 1944 through and over “The Swell” remains one of his favorite memories.
So, when we told him about the so-called “Emery County Public Lands Management Act,” he had a few choice things to say about Senator Orrin Hatch, most of which I can’t repeat in a family newspaper.
Fresh from trying to dismember Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, Hatch and his new partner in crime, Congressman John Curtis, have trained their sights on another beloved part of the state: the San Rafael Swell.
It’s the same old story, and you don’t need a map to imagine what this proposal looks like: only one-third of the 1.5 million acres of wilderness quality land gets protection. ORV routes bisect many areas, degrading the wilderness quality. Big chunks are left unprotected, including Labyrinth Canyon, San Rafael Badlands and Muddy Creek.
Call Hatch and Curtis and tell them you oppose the “Emery County Public Lands Management Act.” If you need some ideas for the call, my father-in-law will be glad to help.
Harry Holland
Castle Valley
