Washington County Wilderness Legislation Leaves Utah Wildlands At Risk
The American people own roughly 300,000 acres of wilderness-quality lands in Utah’s Washington County, the nation’s fifth-fastest-growing county and home to Zion National Park.
U.S. Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT) and Congressman Jim Matheson (D-UT) have proposed a bill that would put just 30 percent of these stunning public lands into the National Wilderness Protection System, with the rest either sold or left exposed to oil and gas drilling and other activities.
What began in 2004 as a promising effort to gather a broad range of public views and produce a balanced bill has gone awry. It has become a behind-closed-doors effort that now points toward a measure that would sell up to 40 square miles of the American people’s land and promote sprawl. With our allies, we are strongly urging Bennett and Matheson to improve their proposal.
For More Information
- Suzanne Jones, Director, Four Corner States Regional Office, The Wilderness Society, 303-650-5818
