Rep. Jim Matheson’s all-out support of oil shale development in eastern Utah is disappointing. Wouldn’t it make more sense to have an oil company that already owns a lease actually prove that the technology to turn rock into oil is economically viable before opening up even more land to potentially damaging mining? And where do oil shale supporters think the massive amounts of water needed to free the oil from shale is going to come from in the already over-allocated Colorado River Basin?
Since much of this mining activity would take place in the Book Cliffs where hunting groups have worked for years to protect big game habitat, hunters would do well to be asking Utah’s lone Democratic congressman some serious questions about how such development will be mitigated.
Given his support of selling off public lands in Washington County, Matheson certainly doesn’t look like much of a friend to outdoor enthusiasts or sportsmen.
— Tom