Orrin Hatch: “along with my colleague, Senator Bennett, I rise today to introduce the Utah Public Lands Management Act of 1995. This…”

“along with my colleague, Senator Bennett, I rise today to introduce the Utah Public Lands Management Act of 1995. This bill would designate approximately 1.8 million acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management [BLM] in Utah as wilderness and release another approximately 1.4 million acres of land as wilderness study areas [WSA] for nonwilderness multiple uses. With this bill, the requirements of the BLM under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to study and recommend to Congress those lands worthy of wilderness designation, as defined by the Wilderness Act of 1964, are met so far as it concerns the agency in our State of Utah. Identical legislation is being introduced in the House today by Representatives Jim Hansen and Enid Waldholtz. Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt is supportive of this measure. Some may find it surprising that I am recommending more wilderness lands in Utah. The fact of the matter is that I am not antienvironment. Like any grandparent, I want to preserve nature's legacy in Utah for my 15 grandchildren to experience, learn from, and glory in. I believe, along with the English poet John Milton, that "Beauty is Nature's coin; must not be hoarded, but must be current. And the good thereof consists in mutual and partaken bliss." I plan to fight for this new wilderness in Utah. I will also fight for balance. Nature itself is balanced; ecosystems work in wonderous ways to perpetuate life.…”