Utah Monument

Re “Oil Exploration OKd on U.S. Monument Land,” Sept. 9: The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah was protected because it is unlike any other place on Earth. Conoco says its oil drilling can “coexist quite nicely” with the monument. Conoco is flat-out wrong.

The Grand Staircase-Escalante is a remote land of awesome beauty. Such places are rare and deserve protection. Oil drilling, if successful, will bring trucks, power lines, waste pits, lights and noise. How is this compatible with rare beauty and wildness?

The Clinton administration has chosen appeasement over principle. Conoco isn’t going to stop with one well; it has already applied to drill four more on the monument. A cynical observer might conclude that Conoco bought the leases after the monument was declared because it wants to exchange them for more lucrative leases elsewhere.

Americans need wild places for recreation, contemplation and inspiration. The government has a responsibility to honor that need and protect our remaining public wild lands. The Clinton administration has caved once again, and we are all the losers for it.

BILL CORCORAN, Public Lands

Conservation Assistant

Angeles Chapter, Sierra Club