ST. GEORGE — The Utah Legislature recently passed the State Monument Act. Utah contains seven national monuments, and while seven are maintained by the National Park Service, three are maintained by the Bureau of Land Management. These seven sites are spread throughout the state and cover a variety of terrain, from desert canyons to mountain caves.
Initially, the State Monument Act protected Utah’s natural resources. However, State Monuments Act Amendments, designated as HB 27 in the 2022 Utah Legislature, added language that legislators representing local areas be consulted in the process, and there will be a thorough analysis before making recommendations on whether or not a specific location would qualify under the state monument code for monument designation.
“So, no local leader would wake up to read in the news that the legislature had created a state monument in their backyard without consulting them,” said Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, the bill sponsor. “This legislative body has created a number of state monuments and the process is working very well. This bill simplifies the process for creating state monuments.”
The new amendments for this year’s legislation don’t change any considerations for creating the state monument. Eliason said it tries to improve the process by which a monument would be considered.
“In addition to having the current county commission legislative body approve it, the local legislator would need to be consulted,” Eliason said. “So I believe it adds additional levels of support and approval before we could designate such a monument.”
Sen. Scott Sandall, R-Tremonton, the bill’s co-sponsor in the Senate, said a state monument didn’t have any process to determine if it should be a monument.
“So a legislator may have filed to make point XYZ a state monument and would run into problems because they had not communicated with the county commission,” Sandall said.
The new amendments create a framework for adding areas to the state monument registry. It also includes communication with local political subdivisions and ensuring everyone knows what is done and what services will or will not be provided.
When people travel to cities like St. George, which has many rural areas nearby, they often wonder what they can do with the whole family. Sandall said they look to see what sites are listed in the online monument registry.
“It’s a legislative awareness piece. But also the process of making sure that everybody’s onboard statewide. It was really essential that there was a pathway so then we didn’t have all these questions every time a legislator is approached to create a state monument,” Sandall said.
The bill states that there will be no encroachment on private lands. The state or federal land ownership doesn’t change, nor does the managing entity change. The only time the state parks are in that loop is when the legislature creates a new park. For a state park there is an admission fee, usually restrooms and other facilities. According to Sandall, monuments are not a part of the state parks system. The newest monument created was Danger Cave in Tooele County during the last legislative session.
State Monument criteria mean public land that is:
- Owned or managed by the state.
- Designated by the state for preservation of a historic landmark, historic or prehistoric structure, geologic formation, cultural site, or archeological resource.
- Confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the historic landmark, historic or prehistoric structure, geologic formation, cultural site, or archeological resource to be protected.
“I think it helps drive our local tourist industry. Our Utah tourism, to stay in Utah and have people visit some of these places that otherwise would not be even listed,” Sandall said.
HB 27 passed the Utah House by a vote of 74-1 on Jan. 18, with Southern Utah Rep. Phil Lyman casting the only vote against it. The bill passed the Utah Senate unanimously on Feb. 3. It now awaits signature by Gov. Spencer Cox.
Check out all of St. George News’ coverage of the 2022 Utah Legislature here.
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