============================================================
This alert is brought to you by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
1471 S. 1100 E., Salt Lake City, UT 84105, 801-486-3161, suwa@suwa.org
============================================================
OUR ENDURING UTAH WILDERNESS
Utah wilderness advocates take heart… the fight for Utah’s wilderness
will go on and we will remain strong in our mission to protect our wild
open spaces. Many of you may be asking yourself what we should take
from these elections. As we see it, the results from Election Day may
provide a snapshot of our nation’s politics, but they cannot tell the
story of our ever-growing, ever-strengthening movement to protect Utah
wilderness. Nor, will these elections dictate the path of our future.
We can say this with confidence because of how far we have come and what
we have overcome along the way. The Utah wilderness movement stretches
back more than twenty years to a time when wilderness opponents scoffed
at the thought of new wilderness. In the time since then,
administrations – both friendly and unfriendly – have come and gone. A
once solidly Democratic Congress slid into the hands of Republicans in
1994 – marking the first time since 1952 that Republicans controlled
both chambers of the Congress.
All that time, Utah wilderness advocates were there fighting for what
was right, and today the results are tangible. Plainly stated, we have
won real protection for wilderness and shifted the political debate over
wilderness in our favor. There is every reason to believe that we can
and will continue doing this in the upcoming months and in the new
Congress.
We know that the White House will continue to be heavily biased against
wilderness preservation. If anything, the veil may be lifted a bit, and
the policies undercutting conservation may be more blatant. What this
means for conservationists is that we too must be as resolved and united
as ever. We Utah wilderness advocates have shown that we can dig in our
heels when we need to.
The results for Congress deserve mentioning as well. Longtime champions
of the America’s Redrock Wilderness Act, Senator Durbin and Congressman
Hinchey, will continue to be strong voices for Utah wilderness in
Congress. That has not changed. In the 109th Congress, the Redrocks
bill could even see a boost in cosponsorship. We saw just such a boost
(over 20 new cosponsors) in 1994 when the House fell into Republican
control.
In closing, the energy and enthusiasm we all felt in the days preceding
the election need not be forgotten. We have a clear purpose when it
comes to Utah wilderness and a reason to remain focused. As we redouble
our efforts across the country, in Congress, against the Administration,
and in the courts, please know that we depend on your passion and
commitment to Utah wilderness.
:greg:
This alert is brought to you by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
1471 S. 1100 E., Salt Lake City, UT 84105, 801-486-3161, suwa@suwa.org
============================================================
OUR ENDURING UTAH WILDERNESS
Utah wilderness advocates take heart… the fight for Utah’s wilderness
will go on and we will remain strong in our mission to protect our wild
open spaces. Many of you may be asking yourself what we should take
from these elections. As we see it, the results from Election Day may
provide a snapshot of our nation’s politics, but they cannot tell the
story of our ever-growing, ever-strengthening movement to protect Utah
wilderness. Nor, will these elections dictate the path of our future.
We can say this with confidence because of how far we have come and what
we have overcome along the way. The Utah wilderness movement stretches
back more than twenty years to a time when wilderness opponents scoffed
at the thought of new wilderness. In the time since then,
administrations – both friendly and unfriendly – have come and gone. A
once solidly Democratic Congress slid into the hands of Republicans in
1994 – marking the first time since 1952 that Republicans controlled
both chambers of the Congress.
All that time, Utah wilderness advocates were there fighting for what
was right, and today the results are tangible. Plainly stated, we have
won real protection for wilderness and shifted the political debate over
wilderness in our favor. There is every reason to believe that we can
and will continue doing this in the upcoming months and in the new
Congress.
We know that the White House will continue to be heavily biased against
wilderness preservation. If anything, the veil may be lifted a bit, and
the policies undercutting conservation may be more blatant. What this
means for conservationists is that we too must be as resolved and united
as ever. We Utah wilderness advocates have shown that we can dig in our
heels when we need to.
The results for Congress deserve mentioning as well. Longtime champions
of the America’s Redrock Wilderness Act, Senator Durbin and Congressman
Hinchey, will continue to be strong voices for Utah wilderness in
Congress. That has not changed. In the 109th Congress, the Redrocks
bill could even see a boost in cosponsorship. We saw just such a boost
(over 20 new cosponsors) in 1994 when the House fell into Republican
control.
In closing, the energy and enthusiasm we all felt in the days preceding
the election need not be forgotten. We have a clear purpose when it
comes to Utah wilderness and a reason to remain focused. As we redouble
our efforts across the country, in Congress, against the Administration,
and in the courts, please know that we depend on your passion and
commitment to Utah wilderness.
:greg:
