Hatch, Bennett seek to block more Utah national monuments

WASHINGTON — Upset Utahns in Congress are attempting something that hasn't been done in 60 years: Exempt a state — this time Utah — from a president's power to create or expand national monuments there.

Wyoming members pulled that off for their state in 1950. They were upset when Franklin D. Roosevelt created the old Jackson Hole National Monument in 1943. A bill in 1950 to turn it into Grand Teton National Park included language exempting Wyoming from the law that gives presidents power to create national monuments without congressional approval.

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, introduced a bill Monday to do the same for Utah. It was co-sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. Also, Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said he will introduce identical legislation in the House.

That comes after Interior Department documents leaked last week showed that the Obama administration quietly has been considering forming 14 new national monuments, including two in Utah — in the San Rafael Swell and Cedar Mesa.

It brought back bad memories of Bill Clinton's surprise 1996 creation of the vast Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, even though Clinton's administration insisted until the day before it was formed that no action was imminent.

"The Obama administration continues to put the needs of environmentalists, who want to keep the public away from public lands, above the needs and desires of Utahns," Bennett said.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told Utah Gov. Gary Herbert over the weekend that the administration would not move forward on the monuments without local input, and had merely been brainstorming on how to protect pristine areas.

Still, Bennett said, "It is essential, given past history, to introduce this legislation and ensure Utahns will have a role in determining how federal lands are managed in our state."

Hatch added, "Regardless of how you feel about Clinton's Grand Staircase-Escalante monument, most Utahns take issue with the colossal abuse of government power in its designation."

He added, "To hear that this administration may follow in President Clinton's footsteps is one more major disappointment from a president who was supposed to bring about change, but instead seems intent on going down that same old path."

Bishop said, "Utah's lands have been among those most heavily targeted by this administration's efforts to impose increased restrictions and limited access."