San Rafael Swell to be considered for National Monument

D94R

Member
Location
Eagle Mountain
The news this morning reported that two locations in southern Utah will be considered to become National Monuments, the San Rafael swell being one of them.

Not sure if this is new news or not. I did a search but didn't find anything on here about this.

Just figured I'd post up this info just in case.

:mad:
 

Xiled1

Member
Location
Mesa, AZ
The AMA sent out an alert about this. It sounds like an end run around congress since they couldn't get their wilderness bills passed.


"AMA Objects to Unilateral Action by the Administration for National Monument Designation

AMA objects to unilateral action by the Administration for National Monument designation without public debate!

Take Action!

Contact your Senators and Representative to Oppose!

A recently obtained internal document from the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) shows the Obama Administration is considering a recommendation to designate over 13 million acres of public and private lands in 11 western states as National Monument areas without any public debate. The western states are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. This unilateral action by the Administration could potentially prohibit off-highway riding in the affected areas.

The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) sent a letter in response to this internal document to DOI's Secretary Ken Salazar, dated February 18, opposing the recommendation to designate areas as National Monuments without any public input. In the letter, the AMA strongly recommended to the Secretary to "reconsider this approach and urge you to reach out to potential affected user groups, local and state elected officials and Congress for input before the disposition of any proclamations pursuant to the Antiquities Act of 1906 (Act)."

The AMA opposes any unilateral executive declarations that do not allow full public debate on the disposition of public lands. Indeed, each of these designations deserves to be considered individually to allow time for thoughtful deliberation and input from affected user groups, local and state elected officials and Congress before any proclamations are made pursuant to the Act. The AMA urges its members to contact their federal elected officials and request that they oppose the Administration's efforts to designate areas as National Monuments without congressional input.

You can find contact information for your elected officials at AmericanMotorcyclist.com >Rights > Issues & Legislation, then enter your zip code in the "Find your Officials" box. Additionally, a prewritten e-mail is available for you to send to your federal elected official immediately by following the "Take Action" option and entering your information.

Please write or call your Senators and Representative today and ask them to oppose the Administration's efforts to designate areas as National Monuments without public or congressional input. "
 

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
"Secretary Salazar believes new designations and conservation initiatives work best when they build on local efforts to better manage places that are important to nearby communities."

I think this is the key to making sure this does not happen, call & write Ken Salazar and tell him that you are a local and you DO NOT support this move by Obama!

Feels like the Grand Staircase-Escalante all over again. :mad2:
 

jackjoh

Jack - KC6NAR
Supporting Member
Location
Riverton, UT
This is the latest from BRC.

OBAMA NATIONAL MONUMENT UPDATE
REQUEST FOR RECORDS VOTED DOWN
TRANSPARENCY IN OBAMA ADMINISTRATION IN QUESTION

Dear BRC Action Alert Subscriber,
On Wednesday, May 5, 2010, the House Natural Resources Committee voted down (by a margin of 20-22) a motion offered by Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA) to favorably report H. Res. 1245 out of Committee. The Resolution is an attempt by Congress to require the Secretary of the Interior to turn over specific information related to potential National Monument designations.
Interestingly, the Department of the Interior (DOI) delivered nearly 400 pages of emails to the Committee less than 24 hours before it was scheduled to vote on the Resolution. However, the agency withheld some 2,016 pages of additional documents directly related to potential Monument designations.
The controversy began with the discovery of an internal DOI document labeled "NOT FOR RELEASE" which details plans for 14 new or expanded national monument designations, totaling some 13 million acres of public and private land.
Rep. Hastings, who has led a bi-partisan effort to require the DOI to disclose information said: “When the federal government is discussing the lockup of 13 million acres of public lands with the stroke of the President’s pen, the American people have a right to know what their government is doing. I encourage my Democrat colleagues to help the Obama Administration adhere to their claims of openness and transparency by bringing this resolution to a vote on the floor of the full House,” said Hastings. “If this Resolution is not brought to the House floor in a timely manner, I promise this Committee will see plenty of similar Resolutions until the Department of Interior reveals what they are hiding.”
House rules provide that the Democrat Majority on the Committee had 14 legislative days to report the Resolution of Inquiry or it would have been eligible to be brought to the Floor of the House of Representatives for a vote as a Privileged Resolution. A future Floor vote on the Resolution is now entirely subject to the will of the Majority.
Meanwhile, legislation that would remove a President's unilateral authority to designate National Monuments is moving slowly. The bill is titled the Preserve Land Freedom For Americans Act of 2010 (HR 4996) is sponsored by North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx. HR 4996 was referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources on April 13, 2010. BRC is encouraging our members to contact their Representatives and encourage them to co-sponsor HR 4996 and work for its passage into law.
We will continue to keep you updated on this and other important issues.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact BRC.
Brian Hawthorne Ric Foster
Public Lands Policy Director Public Lands Department Manager
208-237-1008 ext 102 208-237-1008 ext 107
 

e28bimmer

Registered User
Something to consider on the "monument" idea of the Swell. We have quite a few claims out in the Swell loop, so the monument Management has to grandfather in those claims and maintain and provide full access to those sites as it was previous to monument designation. This is the same thing that happened in the Staircase except that the claim owners took some big payouts from the Monument after holding out for a few years. We dont have any reason to sell these claims as we are holding them to maintain access to the areas. So, if you really want to do something to throw a wrench in the system, start filing some mining claims in the area. Might make them think twice about designation, or if not, it might be the only way to access the area. :D
 

jackjoh

Jack - KC6NAR
Supporting Member
Location
Riverton, UT
Something to consider on the "monument" idea of the Swell. We have quite a few claims out in the Swell loop, so the monument Management has to grandfather in those claims and maintain and provide full access to those sites as it was previous to monument designation. This is the same thing that happened in the Staircase except that the claim owners took some big payouts from the Monument after holding out for a few years. We dont have any reason to sell these claims as we are holding them to maintain access to the areas. So, if you really want to do something to throw a wrench in the system, start filing some mining claims in the area. Might make them think twice about designation, or if not, it might be the only way to access the area. :D

This sounds like it might work. Cory, could you come to the next U4WDA meeting and pitch this to the board? The meeting is Thursday May 27th, 6:30 PM at Larry H. Miller Jeep in Sandy.
 
Top