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Residents and guides urge Kane County to oppose Congressional Review of Grand Staircase'Escalante plan
Summary
Public commenters, including guides and volunteers, told the commission that nullifying the monument's resource management plan via the Congressional Review Act would create economic uncertainty for tourism, grazing and guides and urged the county to oppose using CRA to void the plan.
Dozens of residents and business owners told the Kane County Commission during public comment on Jan. 27 that they oppose using the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to nullify the Grand Staircase'Escalante National Monument's resource management plan.
"The monument attracts about 1,000,000 visitors a year," said Paul Gaglier, representing the Grand Staircase Regional Guides Association, arguing those visitors support lodging, restaurants and guide businesses. Gaglier said long-term economic data show employment and per-capita income growth in communities adjacent to the monument and warned that nullifying the plan would create legal uncertainty for grazing, guiding and mining permits.
Multiple speakers — including long-time residents, volunteers and small-business owners — repeated that theme. John Hissock said retraction of the plan would put BLM management "into limbo," making routine management and investments harder. Kieran Corrigan, a local guide and owner of Willow Canyon, said the monument has "given me a leg up in life" and urged the commission not to treat the landscape as "an item on a balance sheet." Joanne Rando Moon, who volunteers in a BLM paleo lab, called the area an "enormous resource of scientific information."
Speakers acknowledged differences in how a management plan could affect specific users, but the public-comment block was dominated by appeals for stability and continued federal protections. The chair closed public comment before the commission moved on to its written agenda items.
