Wilderness is our home

Wallace Stegner wrote, "Something will have gone out of us as a people if we let the remaining wilderness be destroyed." This weekend in Moab, something went out of me.

Wilderness is in the heart of every American. Especially so in those of us who have had the privilege of growing up in a state like Utah. This is why I am deeply saddened and ashamed that our great state and its division of the Bureau of Land Management would play host to an event like Moab's Easter Weekend "Jeep" Safari.

Why do we allow the last remaining wild places in the West to fall victim to such needless desecration? We must ask ourselves: Is it worth it?

It is time for a change. It is time to let the BLM and off-road enthusiasts know that Utah is not a sacrifice zone, it is our home. As Karen Shepherd said so eloquently, "Take away the wilderness and the American Dream will lose its authenticity."

Jeremy Christensen

Salt Lake City