Orrin Hatch: “I would like to discuss a matter related to the pending legislation in that it concerns a study commissioned by the…”

“I would like to discuss a matter related to the pending legislation in that it concerns a study commissioned by the Bureau of Land Management. As my colleagues know, last September, President Clinton invoked the authority granted under the Antiquities Act of 1906 to create the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah. The total acreage contained within the new monument is 1.7 million acres, or approximately an area the size of the states of Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island combined. This action, undertaken behind closed doors and without any input from the public, including the Utah congressional delegation or Utah's governor, has caused considerable upheaval throughout my state. I say this not because we are opposed to the designation of national monuments, but because of the process utilized to designate the monument and because of the short and long term impacts to the local communities and their economies which, unfortunately, are currently unknown. Those of us in Congress are working with the State of Utah and the Clinton Administration to develop a management plan for the monument that meets the needs of the managing agent--the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)--the state, and the surrounding communities.”