Dec 21 2008
Chipping Away at the Arches in Utah
Photo Credit: Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
Once again the Bush Administration has made me proud! The Bureau of Land Management has officially auctioned off 148,598 acres of pristine land in Utah to use for drilling gas and oil! Fortunately, through the hard work (and a legal protests) of the Natural Resources Defense Council and many other environmental groups including Earthjustice, Grand Canyon Trust, National Parks Conservation Association, Sierra Club, Wilderness Society, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and the National Trust of Historic Preservation, 80 acres of land has been prevented from being leased out until January 19, 2009.
This is the last great move before the Bush Administration tucks tail and scurries out of office; one last deplorable act to add dollars into the pockets of its minions. I’m talking about a hundred thousand acres of some of the most beautiful wild lands in the country, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park,Dinosaur National Monument and Nine Mile Canyon.
I took a road trip when I was nineteen years old and drove from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Seattle, Washington. Deliberately, I drove hundreds of miles out of my way just to get a glimpse of ‘the longest outdoor art gallery in the world’. Today, I feel so fortunate that I was able to see that sunset over the canyons; the reflection of the sun turned my whole world a myriad of colors!
If the Bush Administration has its way, this land will be turned into a place of destruction, all in the name of the almighty dollar! Looks as if the oil tycoons got an early Christmas present this year!
