OPINION – I remember standing on a rise above Parowan Gap one cool autumn day about 15 years ago.
It was one of those picture-perfect Southern Utah days with a vast, beautiful blue sky, a gentle breeze and a vista that went on for miles and miles.
About a dozen people were gathered for the release of a golden eagle that had been rehabilitated by Martin Tyner, who has provided a lifetime of gentle care to the creatures of the wild, nursing them lovingly to health.
I’ve seen him take sick or injured animals — from tiny owls to a coyote once — heal them and then release them to their natural habitat.
Whether a hairy tarantula or a magnificent bald eagle, he nurtures them, heals them, gives them strength and returns them to their homes in the wild.
There is a splendor, a certain beauty, attached to his selfless efforts, a gentle touch that softens a harsh world.
On that day at the Parowan Gap, before a local dignity returned this spectacular golden eagle to the wild, I stood on the rise, looking to the west.
There were no cars, homes or obstructions as I gazed into what seemed like forever.
It was one of those moments of solitude I treasure, a communion with nature and its vivid beauty, an understanding of its vulnerability.
I heard footsteps behind me and turned to see a local real estate guy whom I had known for a few years walking up to join me.
“Gorgeous day,” I said.
“Yes it is,” he said.
“Isn’t that incredible?” I asked.
The real estate guy paused for a moment.
He put one hand on my shoulder, then gestured out to the flat plain below with the other.
“You know what the difference is between you and me?” he asked. “You come up here and see eagles, the petroglyphs, big, open spaces. I see condos, strip malls and high-end houses.”
It was a soulless, crass admission of greed and a lack of understanding about our fragile environment, our tenuous connection to nature and our history as caretakers of a land badly bruised and broken by those who squander its beauty and resources.
Utah has a terrible record when it comes to wilderness, environmental issues and preserving sites important to humankind.
It is trying yet again to go into battle with the federal government to quash a proposal to designate 1.9 million acres in the Four Corners area known as Bears Ears as a national monument.
Naturally, Utah’s elected officials — Gov. Gary Herbert, U.S. Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee, the state’s House delegation and Utah County Commissioner Rebecca Benally — have delivered a letter to President Obama that opposes the creation of Bears Ears National Monument.
Aware of the current political climate as the GOP continues to hold our government hostage to achieve its petty aims, the tribal people of the area have gone directly to President Obama requesting the designation be made through the 1906 Antiquities Act, which would allow him to declare the site a national monument without congressional approval. It is, according to tribal representatives, the first time native tribes have directly petitioned a president for such action.
It is the only sensible thing to do.
If the Republicans won’t give a valid, serious nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court a chance — even a guy Senate ancient Hatch has previously said would be a good nominee — what chance does a cultural issue have before these guys, especially when the cultural impact is on a group of people who do not hold a serious edge in the voting booth? I mean, if a bunch of rich white industrialists were looking to designate the area as a national monument — which would never happen, the way — it would be certain to pass, because guys like Hatch, Gov. Herb, Lee and the others would have their pockets stuffed with campaign dollars, and it would happen in a heartbeat.
Bears Ears is a place of ancestral homes and sacred places, petroglyphs, areas of untouched beauty and solace. It is a sanctuary for those seeking healing, peace, a connection to a distant past.
But vandals have looted its artifacts, and Big Oil has tried to strip its resources.
There are few things as important or precious to us as our environment. Even some of the most diehard conservatives are finally, grudgingly, admitting that global warming and pollution are taking a toll on the planet.
There are also few things as important as our heritage, and our heritage is inextricably connected to certain places.
Would we tear down The Alamo to build a strip mall?
Would we chisel into the side of Mount Rushmore to build some high-dollar condos?
Would we dig up Gettysburg to build a subdivision?
Then why would we allow others to mar a land like Bears Ears that is sacred to a culture that has already been robbed of so much of its heritage?
Of course, it has nothing to do with a much more modern heritage and culture shared by Herbert, Hatch and the rest of the Utah contingency.
And that is the problem.
People of that ilk do not understand the sadness that occurs when their heritage is disrespected, whether through ignorance or bigotry, because it doesn’t impact them.
But I guarantee that Hatch, Herbert and their lot would be knocking on the White House door demanding presidential intervention if oil reserves were found under Temple Square and the oil companies were bidding to take over the property, knock down the buildings and commence drilling.
Bears Ears is just as important to the more than 13 tribes that can trace their lineage to the area.
We owe it to them to do all we can to preserve their heritage.
We owe it to the rest of us to preserve a place of beauty.
Ed Kociela is an opinion columnist. The opinions stated in this article are his and not representative of St. George News.
Email: edkociela.mx@gmail.com
Twitter: @STGnews, @EdKociela
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.
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