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Commentary: Southern Utah businesses united in keeping Grand Staircase-Escalante protected

Our country is on the cusp of losing protections for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument – a place world famous for its geologic, biological, cultural, paleontological, and archeological wonders.

President Donald Trump recently assured Sen. Orrin Hatch that he would follow Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s advice to downsize Grand Staircase as well as Bear Ears National Monument, and would do so in December during a visit to Utah.

Rollback of Grand Staircase threatens not just these wonders but the livelihoods of locals who live and work in the heart of the monument. For this reason, the Escalante & Boulder Chamber of Commerce opposes any reduction to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.