As an Illinois resident and a member of the Illinois Utah Wilderness Task Force, a group located here in Illinois that is working to preserve the remaining wilderness quality lands in Utah, I was pleased to see “House bill would create vast desert preserve in Utah” (News, June 8) regarding Utah wilderness. Our nation’s natural treasures are currently under siege from those who would exploit and destroy their enduring qualities for short-term personal gains.
The originally proposed Utah legislation referred to in your article was one such attempt to undermine our national heritage. Fortunately forward-thinking members of the House rallied behind Utah wilderness and prevented a bad wilderness bill from being brought to a vote.
Instead of sacrificing our natural treasures we should be working to preserve what little we have left for the generations that will follow ours. America’s Redrock Wilderness Act is a bill that seeks to do just that. It is based on thousands of hours of fieldwork conducted by ordinary citizens from across the United States. This bill has broad support here in Illinois and throughout the country, a tribute to the fact that Utah wilderness belongs to the American people. It is incumbent upon today’s society to have the forethought to preserve what little remaining wilderness land still remains.
