Carly Ferro (801) 467.9294 or carly.ferro@sierraclub.org
Salt Lake City, UT - Today concludes the scoping period for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The planning efforts will focus only on areas designated in President Trump’s proclamation and will exclude almost a million acres of lands rich with sensitive resources. Sierra Club Utah helped generate over 8,700 public comments that stridently opposed the BLM moving forward with the planning process.
Ashley Soltysiak, Utah Chapter Director made the following statement
“Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a remarkable landscape, deserving of protection. Under the newly proposed BLM planning process, previously protected lands would be opened to mineral extraction -- leading to the devastation of habitats which are home to regionally-rare species and threatening the area’s renowned starry skies and clean air.
“Communities at the doorstep of the monument continue to thrive and deeply support the monument’s original boundaries for its economic and intrinsic value. We must protect these places to help foster healthy, livable, and sustainable communities for future generations to experience.
“We stand with our allies across the state, especially at gateway communities of the monument to uphold the protections for the spectacular array of natural resources as the initial designation intended, over 21 years ago!”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.