07/21/2026
Our family has explored this great land with open eyes and listening ears extensively for the last 6 years. Though personally, I first experienced its magic almost 30 years ago. We have walked its boundaries, flown hot air balloons over its plateaus, camped under its stars, and breathed in its air. It is pure, it is rewarding, it is healing, it is significant, it is indeed Grand. This area was protected in 1996 for good reason. Every single step reveals evidence as to why this land is sacred. A map will show you 1,000 reasons why, but we can attest, there are a thousand more reasons that lay in the canyons, on the walls, and in the ground. Pictographs, petroglyphs, ruins, arches, rivers, stunning natural landscapes are everywhere on this once vast 1.87-million-acre parcel. I dare say, there is far more significance in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument than many existing National Parks. The removal of the protections of this area is a detriment to the past, present, future generations, and another blatant disregard to indigenous people and their culture. Are not these the things that the Antiquities Act are supposed to protect? Are these not the things that should matter to us as a modern-day society?
Let us learn from the scarring lessons of the past. The lessons from our ancestors and ancient cultures that lived and walked on these lands long before us. If we lose our sight, we become blind. If we lose our hearing, we are deaf. If we lose our touch, we lose all feeling. If we lose our land, we lose everything.
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