Comments about ‘Bad economy can't beat nature’

When we visit southern Utah, the parks are filled with foreign visitors. It is good to see that people in Utah are starting to realize what a treasure we have in this state. Maybe even some of the insensitive "drill, baby, drill" crowd will be moved by our natural wonders.

Although the lack of financial planning on the part of congress and the state legislature has resulted in a lack of funding for these parks that is shameful, this lack of planning cannot diminish the beauty of these parks.

At least he's accurate with his own name. People like him don't want to drill anywhere.

Come on. Nobody is trying to drill in the national parks. Everyone wants to preserve them and enjoy them. The people who live near them (myself being one of them) care for them more than anyone. They are thrilled that these places are preserved. They only want to drill in places where it is wise to drill.

Less than 8% of San Juan County is privately owned. The rest is owned by the federal and state govts. Less than 1% is developed. Come one you guys. Let's be reasonable. We have lots of beautiful places that are and should be preserved. We also have a lot for resources that should be developed for our benefit.

Let's use some common sense instead of a bunch of emotion.

Ahh, but you forget, the environmental extremists believe the entire planet belongs to them; they despise private ownership of property, and would actually prefer that humans were not around at all--except for themselves, of course.

Am I just hungry or does this look like a photo of a huge slice of turkey breast on the side of a mountain?

I pray that the beauty from St.George, Zions canyon, Bryce canyon, Moab's Monument Valley and throughout the glorious canyonland areas will always remain clean and beautiful. These places are sacred to me and my family, who also helped settle some of the surrounding areas over the past 130 years.

KLB,
I thought it looked like a slice of prime rib, with a big fat cap on top. Well marbled red meat! Yum! Look out arteries, here it comes.

These park landscapes can't be depleted like oil and gas, so they will continue yielding benefits as long as we keep them intact. More could be done to build the hospitality industry in southern Utah. There is still a lack of nice places to stay and good restaurants. Springdale and Moab are on the right track.

All these vistor's don't help Utah as much as you think. The service sector creates a lot of low paying job that need to be supplemented by those that pay taxes.The real revenue is going into the corporate coffers which is distributed to the folks in the foreign banks. At least if you drilled in a responsible way, the state could benefit by leasing from the fees percentage being returned to the state and local service districts.

i thought i saw a vision in the cave of the rock

Yay, Does this mean that park fees and tolls will stop increasing?

Last summer, when gas was reaching $4.00 a gallon, I was one of those Utahns visiting the parks close to my Southern Utah home. I explored Arches (a place I had driven past but never had the time to stop) and hiked to Delicate Arch. Took a float ride in the Colorado. It's really hot in Arches in June. I went to the Wildflower Festival at Cedar Breaks National Monument and enjoyed a spectacular view of flora and fauna. Took another trip over to Jacob's Lake (don't miss the cookies and food there...don't forget to tip the students from Rexberg BYU, ID working for the summer), the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and had lunch at the GC lodge. It was fun meandering along Highway 89 through Carmel Junction and Kanab. Enjoyed a trip to Zion. Headed over to Bryce Canyon also. Summer 2008 didn't have any "usual trips to Disneyland", but it was filled with short,sometimes day trips and hikes around our beautiful Utah. This year, even though gas prices are down, my family is wanting to venture out into the Utah and Ariz. parks again!

LIVE UTAH ALONE!!!

To Cats:
Oh yes some people are. There are always those that want to drill anywhere and everywhere. So don't say nobody. Google "Yellowstone geothermal drilling" and you'll find one of the most recent examples. Then there was W's attempt to merely drill right next to Arches N.P., in sight of Delicate Arch. I did check it out, and that is an accurate description of one of the parcels.
The point here is that for even the most far-out environmentalist you can find, there is some developer of some sort that is even more far-out in the other direction. Most environmentalists are actually people most agree with. The environmentalist as described on talk radio doesn't exist in significant numbers. It is one of that art form's many paper tigers.

... if things get worse with the economy you might see folks traveling to Zion to jump off Angels Landing rather than enjoy the view.

Cats is a know it all!

TO Blah Blah: Unlike some posters, I only discuss issues that I have some knowledge about. It's always easy to make attacks on others. What isn't as easy is coming up with intelligent counter arguments which I notice that you haven't.

TO CATS: Just because you live there doesn't mean you were born there and know everything. You are just making issues on here as usual and don't know much about what you are saying or meaning. I agree with blah, blah.

Yeah, I heard that WAL-MART CORP., wanted to build an unsightly shopping center there in MOAB. Heaven forbid it!!!!! Maybe a whole Foods market would be ok though... BUT NEVER A WAL-MART!