[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 7822-7823]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




MORNING BUSINESS
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 THE GRAND STAIRCASE-ESCALANTE NATIONAL MONUMENT GRAZING PROTECTION ACT

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I have always been proud of Utah's rich 
heritage. Utah is blessed with incredible natural resources, beautiful 
landscapes, and breathtaking vistas. Utahns have always understood the 
importance of maintaining a responsible balance between the development 
of our abundant resources and the need to protect the unique natural 
features of our State. Today, though, the executive branch threatens to 
disrupt that delicate balance. Countless rural communities in Utah are 
currently facing difficult challenges to their way of life as the 
Bureau of Land Management, BLM, increases restrictions on traditional 
economic activities, such as ranching and grazing operations on Federal 
land.
  Under President Theodore Roosevelt's leadership, Congress passed the 
Antiquities Act of 1906--a short, four-paragraph law that gave the 
President unilateral authority to designate areas as national 
monuments. Such designations were intended to protect special areas in 
our country that have particularly significant natural, historical, or 
cultural features. Congress crafted these designations to be limited in 
scope and ``confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care 
and management of the objects to be protected.'' At that time, the 
Antiquities Act was an essential tool to protect our Nation's 
historical treasures against growing dangers, such as looters and 
vandals. Congress drafted this law after archaeologists noticed that 
America's natural treasures were turning up in overseas museums and 
private collections.
  After President Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act into law, he 
subsequently set aside nearly 20 such natural and cultural landmarks. 
These monument designations were limited in scope and designed to 
protect specific locations rather than massive acreages. For example, 
the total area of our Nation's first national monument, Devil's Tower 
in Wyoming, spans only about 2 square miles. Unfortunately, over time, 
the use of the Antiquities Act has evolved from protecting historic 
landmarks to restricting development across vast swaths of land without 
any meaningful local input. For example, on September 18, 1996, 
President Bill Clinton issued a proclamation designating nearly 1.9 
million acres in southern Utah as the Grand Staircase-Escalante 
National Monument. Utah's entire congressional delegation, the Utah 
State Legislature, and then-Governor Mike Leavitt all strongly opposed 
this proclamation. President Clinton's declaration was made without so 
much as a ``by your leave'' to the people of Utah. There were no 
consultations, no hearings, no townhall meetings, no TV or radio 
discussions, no input from Federal land managers, no maps, no 
boundaries--nothing. In fact, Utah's elected representatives in 
Washington had to learn about the proclamation from the Washington 
Post.
  There are significant impacts on the ground when a monument is 
designated not only on Federal land but also on State and private land. 
Had President Clinton consulted with the State and the delegation, he 
would have learned that the designation would land-lock and render 
useless 200,000 acres of Utah School Trust Lands--lands held in trust 
for the education of Utah's children. This designation deprived Utah 
schools of a significant revenue source. Fortunately, Utah's 
congressional delegation was eventually able to pass legislation 
allowing these school trust lands to be swapped out of the monument 
boundary. While this legislation helped the schools, much of the local 
population still lost their jobs because of the President's 
declaration.
  The only silver lining in this debacle was language written into the 
President's proclamation that protected livestock grazing on the 
monument. While the President blocked significant mineral development 
and other economic activity in the 1.9 million-acre area, he at least 
understood that blocking traditional grazing in the area was untenable. 
Sadly, since the 1996 monument designation, nearly 28 percent of the 
Federal livestock grazing animal unit-months, AUMs, have been 
suspended, according to the Utah Cattlemen's Association.
  According to the 2015 Economic Report to the Governor prepared by the 
Utah Economic Council, ``[o]f Utah's 45 million acres of rangeland, 33 
million acres are owned and managed by the federal government, while 
only 8 million acres are privately owned.'' With that in mind, most 
ranching operations in Utah must combine private grazing, feed 
importation, and access to the renewable grasses and forage through 
Federal grazing leases in order to be economically viable. 
Unfortunately, since the late 1940s, the Utah Farm Bureau found that 
the BLM and the Forest Service have drastically cut or suspended Utah's 
total livestock grazing AUMs from 5.4 million AUMs in 1949 to just over 
2 million in 2012.
  With grazing on Federal land already in peril, grazing on the 
monument is at even greater risk. Currently, the BLM is considering an 
amendment to the Management Plan that would eliminate grazing on the 
monument altogether. If the BLM eliminates grazing on the monument, 
there would be significant negative economic impacts to the area. 
Consider the economic benefits grazing already brings to these rural 
counties in Utah. The Utah Farm Bureau reports that ``around 11,500 
feeder cattle sold out of Kane and Garfield County ranches brought in 
more than $16 million dollars and generated in excess of $25-$30 
million based on
a conservative economic multiplier. With about one-half of the calf 
crop coming from grazing allotments within the monument, of that total, 
about $8 million in direct feeder cattle sales and between $12-$15 
million in economic activity is tied directly back to cattle grazing on 
the monument.''
  Those ranching dollars create jobs in Utah's rural counties. The 
money also contributes to local tax revenue and supports vital public 
services. Eliminating grazing on the monument would have disastrous 
implications for the local economy.
  The poor stewardship of the land presents another risk even beyond 
its effects on grazing and the local economy. The rangeland on the 
monument is being mismanaged. Even if the BLM decides to change course 
overnight and restore grazing to the historic levels that existed 
before the designation of the monument, the land in its current

[[Page 7823]]

state would not be able to sustain it. Over the last 20 years, we have 
witnessed a worrisome decline in rangeland health. With this decline, 
livestock carrying capacity has also decreased.
  To protect rangeland health, I joined Senator Mike Lee and 
Congressman Chris Stewart to introduce the Grand Staircase-Escalante 
National Monument Grazing Protection Act. This bill would direct the 
BLM to create and implement a management program within the areas of 
the monument to improve rangeland conditions for wildlife and livestock 
carrying capacity. It would also restore livestock grazing to the 
historic levels that existed before the designation. There are many 
things BLM can and should be doing to restore rangeland health. 
Improving the range would not only benefit ranchers and affected 
communities but also bring significant ecological and environmental 
benefits to the entire area. This legislation will direct the BLM in 
that effort.
  This is a commonsense bill that will restore Utah's rangeland to 
health. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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