The Denver Post makes a weak case in defending President Barack Obama’s land grab in declaring 1.65 million acres in Utah and Nevada as national monuments.
Their editorial board say it was used wisely in 1911 by President William Taft to declare the Colorado National Monument, and look how great that turned out more than 100 years later.
The difference in what Obama did, and Clinton before him, is they did not use their executive power because folks in those states demanded it, but in defiance of those Americans.
In Utah, state and county leaders are opposed to the action, and were working on their own solution to protect Bear Ears while keeping multiple use intact. In Nevada, another conservation deal had been in the works for similar goals.
We turned to the Desert News to find out what was really going on, because the entire national media landscape is one giant whitewash on the issue.
“With this astonishing and egregious abuse of executive power, President Obama has shown that far-left special interest groups matter more to him than the people who have lived on and cared for Utah’s lands for generations,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. “For Utahns in general, and for those in San Juan County in particular, this is an affront of epic proportions and an attack on an entire way of life.”
All three San Juan County commissioners said the county was in mourning.
“The push for a monument did not originate from those most impacted by this decision. Instead, it came from outside special interest groups who used deception and collusion to drown out local voices,” a statement from the commission said.
Not everyone in Nevada is thrilled with their new monument either including Gov. Brian Sandoval, who fears the designation will interfere with water rights, hunting and off-road activities. We found this nugget buried in the Las Vegas Sun.
Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., and Reps. Cresent Hardy, R-Nev. — whose district includes Gold Butte — and Mark Amodei, R-Nev., opposed Obama taking executive action to designate the monument. The Republicans cited a lack of consensus among local, state and federal officials on the issue.
“I am terribly disappointed with today’s news,” Heller said in a statement. “For years, I have urged for all new land designations, especially ones in Nevada, to be considered in an open and public congressional process. Doing so allows for all voices and stakeholders to have an equal opportunity to be heard. Best of all, input from local parties guarantees local needs are addressed.”
With oil, gas and mining also off limits, schools that drew income from some of the industry in Utah will lose out in funding.
And as many decades as it has taken the U.S. to climb above our dependence on Middle Eastern oil for energy, the Obama administration appears to be doing everything in its power to roll us back into those dark ages.