VOTE NO
PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE
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The devil is in the details.
Clean Air, Clean Water, Quality growth. Who would reasonably oppose
such a proposition? This is as American as motherhood, apple pie and
Old Glory.
Well, rest assured we are in fact, in favor of clean air, clean water,
and quality growth, but not when it is mandated by The Nature
Conservancy.
I invite you to read the full proposition, all seven pages of it. You
will find it at
www.utahlands2004.org
(click on "Official Initiative Petition" - down near the bottom of the
left hand column of the page.) If you follow this link you may read
of many popular and influential people and organizations who support
this proposition. Don't be swayed by these endorsements simply because
they are well known and apparently intelligent people.
The text of the proposition itself may also be enticing to you. There
are many things in this proposition that any right thinking Utahn would
support. However, it is vague by design in most of the actual
implementation of these potential tax funds. You will note that there
is an outreach to almost every special interest in the state, including
hunters, farmers, ranchers, rural communities and outdoor recreational
enthusiasts of all types. These payoffs would gladly be received by
such potential beneficiaries, but the real winner in this proposition
is not the citizens of the State of Utah. It is the environmental
elitist organizations that can't wait to get their hands on Utah tax
money to further their restrictive causes.
Now here's the deal. This group is not a Utah group as the name would
imply. It is in fact a front for The Nature Conservancy of Fairfax
VA. The President of UFCWCAQG is a paid employee, (an Attorney) of
The Nature Conservancy. She told me so herself via email. She is from
Washington State, not a long time Utah resident, as she would have you
believe on the surface.
While I seldom officially endorse the conclusions of the Utah Taxpayers
Association, they have painstakingly reviewed the initiative and
enumerated 13 excellent reasons why Prop 1
should not be adopted.
To these I add my own concerns, not enumerated previously.
Land that has been set aside by a conservation easement is seldom
open to unrestricted public access including motorized recreation even
though the proposition clearly states that such access will be
assured. It is more of a guideline than a provision of the law,
similar to the Pirate's Code.
A citizen proposition is NOT the only way to preserve open
spaces, clean water, clean air and quality growth. We elect
representatives to the Utah State House and Senate to carefully
evaluate the budgetary needs of our state and appropriately prioritize
the use of scarce tax resources.
This proposition would permit any 501(c) 3 Charitable
organization to apply for taxpayer money and use it for any purpose
they deem appropriate under the sole limitation of protecting the
environment, open space, watershed, or natural habitat. These
organizations are not generally existent in the State, but for the
likes of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, The Wilderness Society,
Wasatch Mountain Club, Sierra Club, Utah Rivers Council, Boneville
Shoreline Trail Association, etc. If you have any inclination that
any of these organizations will favor motorized recreation, I would
invite you to simply visit their web sites and you will quickly see
their adamant unrelenting opposition.
Utahns have historically managed our public and private lands with
excellent professionalism. The fact that our state is already in near
pristine condition after over a hundred forty seven years of intense
human habitation is evidence of this. We have no need of the all
seeing eye and ever so controlling thumb of out of state organizations
who are attempting to regulate our state with the same expertise and
principles in use in New York City's Central Park.
Please reject this proposition. It is ill conceived and inappropriate
in almost every concept.
Robert Birkinshaw
