National Parks Group Disheartened by Utah Decision to Allow Strip Mine Near Bryce Canyon National Park
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PRESS RELEASE
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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | |
| Date: | August 4, 2010 |
| Contact: | David Nimkin, Southwest Regional Director National Parks Conservation Association, Cell: 801.518.1270 |
National Parks Group Disheartened by Utah Decision to Allow Strip Mine Near Bryce Canyon National Park
Salt Lake City, UT—The nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) was saddened and disappointed to learn of the August 3, 2010, decision by the Utah Board of Oil, Gas, and Mining to allow Alton Coal Development to strip mine lands within 10 miles of Bryce Canyon National Park.
Statement by David Nimkin, Southwest Regional Director with the National Parks Conservation Association:
“The board’s poor decision puts our local economy and a crown jewel at risk—Bryce Canyon National Park, which supports more than 1,800 local jobs and contributed more than $89 million to the state’s economy in 2008.
“By every measure, this proposed strip mine will degrade the special qualities that millions of visitors to Bryce Canyon treasure each year. Water, air quality, night sky, and the local population will all be negatively affected by this mine.
“NPCA will continue to pursue every avenue available in the months ahead to prevent this ill-conceived development from moving forward and will continue to advocate for local, state, and federal policies that consider the inherent value of resources above the ground as well as beneath it.”
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Background
Bryce Canyon National Park, located in southwestern Utah, offers extraordinary dark skies thanks to good air quality, elevation, and lack of light pollution. It's one of the premier night sky destinations in North America.
