Letter to the Editor: Keep Public Lands out of State Control

Dear Editor:

On Oct. 25, Senator Mike Lee came to Moab, where our booming economy is driven by the magnificent public lands surrounding the city, to discuss stealing those lands from the citizens of the United States. His “roundtable discussion” was open exclusively to invitees whose qualifications seemed only to be an open hostility to the idea of public land. Included were our very own Grand County Council member Curtis Wells. The theme seemed to be that American citizens should simply give their land to the state of Utah, which does not have the fiscal resources to adequately manage the lands, and where our state constitution prohibits such demands: Article 3.2 states “the people inhabiting this State do affirm and declare that they forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within the boundaries hereof…”

In light of this malice, Grand County residents need to push the Grand County Council to pass a resolution in support of keeping public land in public hands—and to censure Wells his attempts to kill the goose that’s laying our golden eggs.

Mike Coronella

Moab