BIOD: New U.S. National Monument
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Clinton Declares New National Monument, Limiting Land Development in
Utah
Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises
9/20/96
OVERVIEW & SOURCE by EE
President Clinton, perhaps equally concerned with his environmental legacy
as reelection chances, recently used the Grand Canyon as a backdrop to
announce the new Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. At 1.7
million acres, the region is an enormously important wilderness area which
also links a number of other protected areas into a more contiguous
preserved region. President Clinton deserves much credit for this action.
Clinton limits land development in Utah
9/18/96
Copyright 1996 by Reuters
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz., Sept 18 (Reuter) -
Using the beauty of the Grand Canyon as a campaign backdrop, President Bill
Clinton on Wednesday signed an order that ends new land development on 1.7
million acres (690,000 hectares) of federal land in southern Utah.
Calling the area "some of the most remarkable land in the world," Clinton
said "in protecting it we live up to our obligation to preserve a national
heritage".
Faced with strong opposition to the move in Utah, where he came third in
1992 behind then-President George Bush and independent challenger Ross
Perot, Clinton opted to make his announcement in neighbouring Arizona -- a
state his political strategists believe he can win in November.
Standing near the site where President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908 issued a
decree protecting the Grand Canyon from development, Clinton formally made
the vast stretch of red rock canyons and plateaus in southern Utah the
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
The move, which does not require congressional approval, means no new
mining leases will be issued for land with one of the nation's largest coal
reserves, estimated to have a potential value of trillions of dollars.
While mining was important to the nation's economy, Clinton said, "We can't
have mines everywhere and we shouldn't have mines that threaten our
national treasures."
The decision applies to Grand Staircase, adjacent to Bryce Canyon National
Park, the Kaiparowits Plateau, adjacent to Glen Canyon National Recreation
Area, and Esclante basin, which is next to Capital Reef National Park.
Utah Gov. Michael Leavitt and the state's congressional delegation called a
news conference in Washington to vigorously oppose closing the area to
development because of concerns about the economic impact on the state.
"In the same instant Bill Clinton claims to be the environmental president,
he locks up 62 billion tons of the cleanest, most environmentally
beneficial coal in the United States," said Sen. Bob Bennett, a Utah
Republican.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, the other Republican senator from the state, said there
had been no consultation before Clinton made the decision.
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbit, travelling with Clinton, said the order
did not revoke a lease already given to Dutch-owned Andalex Resources Corp.
to mine the high-quality coal on the Kaiparowits Plateau. But he said it
imposed environmental standards that must be met before determining
whether mining could be carried out.
PacifiCorp, which holds the only other major lease for mining, last week
agreed to exchange its lease for rights on other land. Grazing will
continue to be permitted, and hunting and fishing will continue under state
control.
With the race for the White House heading toward its Nov. 5 conclusion,
Clinton sought to promote his concerns about safeguarding the environment -
- something pollsters say ranks high in importance among voters, many of
whom have doubts about Republican handling of the issue.
Vice President Al Gore, who wrote a best-selling book on environmental
concerns around the world, criticised congressional Republicans and said
"if they got their way, they would do pretty serious damage" to the
environment.
"We're going to stand up to it and we're going to prevail," Gore said in
introducing Clinton at the ceremony.
In August, Clinton went to Yellowstone National Park and announced an
agreement stopping mining operations at New World Mine, on the fringe of
the park. The action, and Clinton's moves to stop mining around a portion
of Yellowstone, have strengthened his standing in several Western states --
a region traditionally considered a Republican stronghold.
Clinton was to fly to Washington state for a nighttime rally and then lead
a bus caravan through the state on Thursday before heading to Oregon. He
campaigns in Oregon and South Dakota on Friday, before returning to the
White House.
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