The old debate over the Grand
Staircase-Escalante National Monument is fascinating (HCN, 4/14/03:
Change comes slowly to Escalante country), but you missed the
larger story: the emerging threats to the National Landscape
Conservation System (NLCS). This system has the potential to
dramatically reshape conservation in the West.
Established
to encompass the crown jewels of the public lands managed by the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the NLCS consists of more than 40
million acres: national monuments, wilderness study areas, wild and
scenic rivers, national conservation areas, and national historic
and scenic trails.
In addition to its immense historical,
cultural, recreational and educational values, the NLCS plays a
critical role in preserving the ecology of the Western landscape.
It maintains the integrity of complex desert, forest and grassland
ecosystems and numerous watersheds.
Sadly, the NLCS was
barely created when it came under attack by the Bush
administration, which is chipping away at these spectacular areas
through quiet administrative changes, inadequate funding for
management, and the Interior Department’s recent “no more
wilderness” settlement with Utah (HCN, 4/28/03: Wilderness takes a
massive hit). This settlement threatens tens of millions of acres
of wilderness-character land managed by the BLM.
The
National Landscape Conservation System has the potential to rival
the park system and deserves a similarly forward-thinking level of
protection. Without it, many of the West’s remaining wild
places may be lost to poor management, drilling, road building and
encroaching suburban pressures. I hope your readers will help us
celebrate and protect the national monuments and the National
Landscape Conservation System and the true American heritage it
includes.
William H. Meadows
President, The
Wilderness Society
Washington, D.C.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Monuments under attack.
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