Rob Bishop's Argument Against The Public Lands Initiative

Improved Essays
The Public Lands Initiative (PLI) was introduced in July 2016 by Representative Rob Bishop, and if it had passed, would have determined how a large portion of public lands in southeastern Utah would be managed. Public lands in Utah are a hot topic of debate. Prior to 2017, 67% of Utah were under federal control. This was an attempt to transfer control of federal land in Utah to the State. In 2012, Utah introduced legislation that mandated the federal government give management of public lands back to the state. The prevalent belief behind this push is that Utah will be a better steward to manage and protect the land via proper development of energy corridors and the creation of commercial/recreational opportunities. The Public Lands Initiative …show more content…
Utah is a very conservative state and the Republican party supports limited federal oversight. While the Public Lands Initiative cites itself as a fair negotiated process that is driven by local opinion from Utah counties, the initiative does little to accommodate tribal input. Utah has a history of overriding tribal sovereignty as exemplified in 2005 when the Skull Valley Goshute Tribe applied to temporary store radioactive waste on their reservation and was blocked from gaining access to waste routes due to a targeted legislation from the State of Utah . Since 2009, the Intertribal Coalition has been the main opposition against PLI and they call for the President of the United States to utilize the Antiquities Act to provide protection that they feel the State of Utah and the commission behind the Public Lands Initiative isn’t properly …show more content…
A survey, taken by The Pew Charitable Trusts, found that 55 percent of Utahs supported the national monument designation . The Public Lands Initiative only took feedback from counties that participated through its outreach and website. Counties should a voice in this legislation, but they shouldn’t be the only interests driving this initiative. There are multiple parties that don’t include tribal parties that have a stake in public lands. To end decades of public land debate, there is a need for a different approach to adequately address problems in public land management because not everyone is given proper representation in the Public Lands Initiative. The Public Lands Initiative didn’t pass through Congress because it was driven by a select number of counties and not a balance of all interest

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