I had no
idea what it was all about. I only knew that it was the current
environmental cause du jour and I wanted to find out what was
so hot about this issue. Was it going to be a long term item on the
environmental battle menu or was it just the special of the day? So,
with an open mind and a blank notebook, I went to hear a lecture about
the Utah Wilderness issue.
I had come
prepared to learn but also to question. The environmental movement has
been known to use fiery passion, rhetoric, and even a hint of propoganda
that often make it difficult to filter out the facts. I went to learn
the facts and come to my own conclusion. As I entered the auditorium, my
defenses went up as I saw all the brochures and two gorgeous posters
meant to appeal to the heart.
I did relax
a little when Dave Pacheco, from the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
(SUWA), began stating his desire for us to know the factual history of
the issue. The passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964 established
criteria for what is wilderness and how government agencies should
determine which areas should be protected. This bipartisan legislation
defined wilderness as an area that is federally owned, at least 5,000
acres in size, primarily roadless and with no permanent structures or
motorized vehicles allowed within its borders. The designation of
wilderness areas progressed fairly smoothly, with Alaska being the only
state where wilderness areas were created without the support of its own
Congressmen.
