One thing that truly makes America great is our wild and public land. No other modern democracy has made such a commitment to set aside land for its people. But it almost didn’t happen.

When Teddy Roosevelt first created the National Forest, powerful western senators, funded by logging and mining companies, worked hard to kill the new agency by starving it of funding. Today we face a similar threat.

Extractive industries have funded politicians who are clever at exploiting our tribal instincts to get us to vote against our interests. Don’t let them.

Just because it was Obama who established Bears Ears National Monument does not make it a bad idea. In fact, the very Utah politicians who are most vocally against Bears Ears worked for years to get protection for this same area through Congress.

The differences between the two proposals are mostly about who proposed them. We should also be wary of claims by states that they can manage these lands better. Cash-strapped states will find it even harder than federal agencies to come up with the funds necessary to manage public lands. When was the last time your state succeeded in raising taxes?

States will ultimately find it politically expedient to sell off public lands to raise revenue without raising taxes. Don’t let Congress undo protection of the southeast corner of Utah.

Contact your representatives to let them know that the Antiquities Act and Bears Ears are important to you.

Eilene Lyon

Durango