"We must do this to protect and preserve this area. We don't trust the state, we don't trust the county, we don't trust the elected officials to do this as they have done it for many, many decades."
"Today, there is far more looting, far more grave robbing, vandalism in this area."
"How in the world does the Federal Government propose to do what it said it was going to do when it made this a monument designation and took the stewardship away from the local people?"
"But it is not staff, it is budget."
"We feel like we preserve and protect that area in a magnificent way, and now the Federal Government has taken it over without adding any resources."
"We are taking that responsibility away from the state, and we are going to take that, and I think when we make these decisions, we have to step up for that."
"Almost 20 years after the passage of the Energy Policy Act in 2005, we still do not have enough petroleum engineers, geologists, and staff within the Bureau of Indian Affairs to support development of..."
"I think we as lawmakers and policy makers need to understand it is not as easy as waving a wand and protecting all of this area because we have designated it."
"I think, in truth, if I could redo this life, I would be a park ranger."
"Thus saving the taxpayer more money than if we hadn't done the project."
"I think it is imperative that your agency is able to make this a non-political issue, and assure people that it really is, in the long term, saving taxpayers money by spending this money."
"I think it is fair to say it impacts local guides, it impacts individuals with recreation, it impacts the local tribes."