I would like to thank Sen. Mike Lee for recently introducing the Protecting Utah’s Rural Economy (PURE) Act. This bill, if passed, would give Utah the same protections against Antiquities Act abuse that Wyoming and Alaska enjoy. The PURE Act would require presidents to get the approval of Congress and the Utah Legislature before designating national monuments.
Last December I had the great privilege of traveling to the Utah Capitol to attend President Trump’s announcement that he would be shrinking the Bears Ears and Grand Escalante Staircase National Monuments.
As a rural county commissioner from San Juan County I had become used to being ignored by Washington, D.