SandBoxUtah: Salt Lake Tribune "Utah: A beehive of corruption"

Pat Shea:

"I have served on the Governor’s Council of Balanced Resources since its creation in 2009, but no longer.

Here’s why:

At our last meeting, legislation by the Utah Legislature purporting to reclaim federal land for the state of Utah was discussed, though the main proponent of the idea, Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, was absent.

When lawmakers were considering the legislation, Bob Abbey, director of the federal Bureau of Land Management, told The Salt Lake Tribune that "it’s too bad we can’t focus on our shared values, instead of litigating and spending money."

In keeping with that spirit of shared values, during the meeting I drafted a letter from the Balanced Resources Council to the BLM director, asking for his view of our shared values. I read the letter to the council and everyone agreed it was a good idea.

Alan Matheson Jr., the governor’s chief environmental adviser and staff person for the council, asked that Gov. Gary Herbert be given a chance to review the letter. Two weeks later, I received a phone message that the governor was not willing to have his council send such a letter.

Matheson said that if Abbey wanted to write a letter on his own describing his perception of our "shared values," the letter could be reviewed by the council. Disgusted, I resigned from the council on April 13.