Our Enduring Utah Wilderness
Aler...@suwa.org
alert is brought to you by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
1471 S. 1100 E., Salt Lake City, UT 84105, 801-486-3161, su...@suwa.org
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OUR ENDURING UTAH WILDERNESS
Utah wilderness advocates take heart the fight for Utahs wilderness
will go on and we will remain strong in our mission to protect our
wild open spaces. Many of you may be asking yourself what we should
take from these elections. As we see it, the results from Election
Day may provide a snapshot of our nations politics, but they cannot
tell the story of our ever-growing, ever-strengthening movement to
protect Utah wilderness. Nor, will these elections dictate the
path of our future.
We can say this with confidence because of how far we have come and
what we have overcome along the way. The Utah wilderness movement
stretches back more than twenty years to a time when wilderness
opponents scoffed at the thought of new wilderness. In the time
since then, administrations both friendly and unfriendly have
come and gone. A once solidly Democratic Congress slid into the
hands of Republicans in 1994 marking the first time since 1952
that Republicans controlled both chambers of the Congress.
All that time, Utah wilderness advocates were there fighting for
what was right, and today the results are tangible. Plainly stated,
we have won real protection for wilderness and shifted the political
debate over wilderness in our favor. There is every reason to
believe that we can and will continue doing this in the upcoming
months and in the new Congress.
We know that the White House will continue to be heavily biased
against wilderness preservation. If anything, the veil may be
lifted a bit, and the policies undercutting conservation may be
more blatant. What this means for conservationists is that we too
must be as resolved and united as ever. We Utah wilderness advocates
have shown that we can dig in our heels when we need to.
The results for Congress deserve mentioning as well. Longtime
champions of the Americas Redrock Wilderness Act, Senator Durbin
and Congressman Hinchey, will continue to be strong voices for Utah
wilderness in Congress. That has not changed. In the 109th Congress,
the Redrocks bill could even see a boost in cosponsorship. We saw
just such a boost (over 20 new cosponsors) in 1994 when the House
fell into Republican control.
In closing, the energy and enthusiasm we all felt in the days
preceding the election need not be forgotten. We have a clear
purpose when it comes to Utah wilderness and a reason to remain
focused. As we redouble our efforts across the country, in Congress,
against the Administration, and in the courts, please know that we
depend on your passion and commitment to Utah wilderness.
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