Utah anger grows over document listing possible national monument candidates in West
By Brock Vergakis, APTuesday, February 23, 2010
Utah anger grows over possible nat’l monument list
SALT LAKE CITY — Anger in Utah is growing over the possible designation of two national monuments in the energy rich southern part of the state.
A U.S. Department of the Interior document lists more than a dozen sites throughout the West for possible monument designation, which would make them off-limits to development. Presidents have the sole authority to designate national monuments through the Antiquities Act.
A rally at the state Capitol on Tuesday supports a measure to require congressional approval of future monuments in Utah.
The Interior Department insists the list is a product of brainstorming and nothing more. But in Utah, fear of a possible land grab persists as a result of the Clinton administration’s designation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
