Western Values Project Action released a hard-hitting advertisement telling Congressman Scott Tipton to definitively clarify his position on public land protections and key legislation that is making its way through Congress after he voted for a bill that could put the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument on the chopping block.
“With protections on millions of acres of public lands expiring today after the administration’s unlawful actions, public lands in Colorado and across the West face an ominous future without elected officials taking a stand against key legislation making its way through Congress,” said Chris Saeger, executive director of the Western Values Project Action. “It’s unfortunate that Congressman Tipton voted for legislation that could lead to the eradication of special places like Canyons of the Ancients.”
The full-page ad, with a for sale to special interests sign in front of the Canyons of the Ancients, says that if Congressman Tipton ‘truly supports public lands he needs to come out and say he’s against H.R. 4532 and H.R. 3990 – two bills among many in Congress that would end protections of our national treasures.’
President Trump followed Secretary Zinke’s recommendation to eliminate protections for millions of acres of public lands in Utah that are now open to special interests, a move Congressman Tipton praised in the hearing on H.R. 4532, which would codify Trump’s reduction of Bears Ears National Monument.
H.R. 3990 would eviscerate the Antiquities Act by allowing current and future presidents to eliminate designated national monuments without congressional approval, which could mean that Canyons of the Ancients and other monuments could be wiped off the map at any moment.
“Given the strong opposition in Colorado to any legislation that undermines public land protections, one can only assume that Congressman Tipton is listening instead to the special interests who want nothing more than to exploit our public lands for their own gain,” said Saeger.
The ads will run in the Congressman’s district and prompt constituents to call Tipton’s office seeking clarification on his positions. The House Committee on Natural Resources held a hearing on Tuesday for H.R. 4532 and has already moved H.R. 3990 out of committee on a party-line vote with the support of Congressman Tipton.
Also published on Medium.