Orrin Hatch: “last week, I had the opportunity to return home to visit the recently declared Bears Ears National Monument. This…”

“last week, I had the opportunity to return home to visit the recently declared Bears Ears National Monument. This Federal designation encompasses roughly 1.35 million acres in Utah, and it is located in one of our country's most remote communities--Juan County. For decades, this quiet county remained largely untouched by the tensions of modern life and the taint of Washington politics, but no more. San Juan County is now the epicenter of a brutal battle over public lands, the outcome of which will have long-lasting consequences not only for Utah but for the entire Nation. In geographical terms, San Juan County is massive. It is the largest county in the State of Utah and the second largest county in the United States. To put the size of San Juan County in perspective, consider that the county itself is larger than several States, including Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island. San Juan County alone accounts for nearly 10 percent of all the land in Utah. Yet Utahns have had very little to say about what actually goes on there. That is because the Federal Government administers the vast majority of San Juan County. Incredibly, just 8 percent of the county's land is under private ownership while an area of more than 2 million acres is controlled by the Bureau of Land Management.…”