Bishop blasts Obama administration; still wants 'monument' documents

WASHINGTON — Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, is upset that the Interior Department has not turned over some still-secret portions of a partially leaked document that revealed the Obama administration was looking at possibly forming up to 14 new national monuments in the West, including two in Utah.

Bishop and 15 other Western House members wrote last month to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar asking him to turn over the rest of that document by March 26. They noted that only pages 15 to 21 of an "internal draft" about possible new monuments had been leaked publicly.

The deadline they set has passed, so Bishop blasted the administration about it on Monday.

"Since the president and his Cabinet have routinely stated that transparency is among the administration's highest priorities, fulfilling this document request should have been no problem," he said.

"With the DOI's latest failure to complete this document request, I would hardly say Secretary Salazar is living up to the president's standards," said Bishop, chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus.

Bishop added, "The DOI must be forthcoming with information we have requested, and if there is nothing to hide as they claim, they why the delay? Sadly, this is what we have come to expect from the DOI, and frankly, the American people deserve better."

Salazar has told Congress and the news media that the document merely reflected some "brainstorming discussions" with the Bureau of Land Management over how to protect some pristine lands and that no decisions have been made about which areas may merit more serious review. Salazar also vowed an open process if the administration does pursue any monuments.

Among the potential national monuments mentioned in the leaked portion of the document was one in Utah's San Rafael Swell and one in Cedar Mesa.

e-mail: lee@desnews.com