Mountain Accord’s agenda is to get taxpayers to fund tourism industry

This weekend’s Salt Lake Tribune had an interesting Op-ed from Patrick Shea who is a Salt Lake City attorney and a former director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Mr Shea’s points are:

• We’ve inherited a great treasure, in the form of the Central Wasatch.
• Our ancestors and the people here before us “were not motivated solely by financial gain. Instead, particularly for the pioneers, they understood there was an inherent moral obligation for ‘justice between generations.'”
• The plan being proposed “on an unsuspecting public” is for “certain financial interest, both public and private, to create a transportation system which will facilitate our tourism business.”
• We the citizens would be obligated to pay $3-$5 billion in our taxes for this.
• We run the risk that this plan actually destroys 60% of our water system.
• The promoters of Mountain Accord believe that Orrin Hatch will find a way for the Federal Government to fund the entire proposal, “tunnel and all”
• The centerpiece of Mountain Accord — planning for the future makes sense. “But we as citizens need to make sure that the short-term financial interest of a few don’t destroy the future for many.”

It’s an interesting argument. We hadn’t heard or thought of the Orrin Hatch play. We’re not sure it’s possible but you never know. We would suggest you read the op-ed in its entirety and see what you think.

h/t to the Friend of the Park Rag who told us we needed to read the op-ed