San Rafael Swell Designation Area

What are our local citizens primary interest concerning the wild lands that surround our community? Exactly how would a National Monument impact our towns? That’s the “million dollar question”. We have been in this dilemma for over 20 years. Answers coming soon. Stay tuned.
Our neighbor, down the road, Escalate “got a big shot in the arm,” for their businesses in 1996 when then President Clinton designated the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. In the past inclusive years there have been several new motels, three or four new RV Campgrounds and great controlled growth. The BLM partnered with Dixie National Forest and built a wonderful Information Center at the edge of town. Including a paved parking area (couple acres and they need more) and many displays inside with employees directing tourists to places of interest. Actually Escalate is Torrey and Capitol Reef National Park’s neighbor. San Rafael Swell National Monument could be their neighbor.
Next great “hot shot” will be Bears Ears National Monument. Blanding area and those, “off the map,” little towns with wild lands just waiting to be enjoyed by the tourists, down there, will become “on the map” real soon. Tourism is a commercially rewarding investment. Watch what happens in the next 20 years as we see what happened in Escalnte the past 20 years. We are getting way behind in our tourism benefits.
Canyon Lands Celebration in October each year in the Monument and surrounding areas has given me an opportunity to get involved by participating in the Plein Air competition for the past seven years in and around Escalate. All the Agencies involved with the Monument are sponsors of this event. 10 days are designated for the celebration with activities that are put together for a lot of tourists by the government agencies. Motels, campgrounds and RV Parks are all full. Local residents are very much involved. A good time is had by all.
Checking license plates and talking to the sight seers it becomes evident that the majority of the people are coming from California and outlining states. Mostly retired folks taking their grandchildren on a tour to see the National Parks and great places in the Wilderness. They get on the Web Sites and make a plan, following a map that directs their travels through the points of interest. The Tourist itinerary looks like this: Start in California, take I-15 north to Zion’s Park over the hill to Bryce’s National Park down to Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument over to Capitol Reef National Park and then hit I-15 going south back to California. The map does not have San Rafael National Monument, yet. Build it and they will come. Don’t be scared.
Emery County’s Land Use Plan has been put together, refined, redone, restored and a lot of effort expended to get us on the map. Both of our neighborhood land plans were instituted with a stroke of the pen. The President of the United States designated those areas National Monuments and our current President just gave the Ownership and control to the State of Utah. The State will, in turn, give the control back to the local governments as the Constitution guarantees. If we work directly with the man in the White House that is only interested in making America Great Again we can be on our way.
The only other option to become a designation is to redo our Land Plan and take it through Congress and the House and we all know how well this has been working. It ain’t easy but it can be done. Get it to the President.
Craig L Anderson
Emery, Utah