It took millions of years to create the delicate sandstone arches and swirling crimson towers that rise over southern Utah's Redrock Wilderness. First, an ancient sea left behind salt deposits; then, the wind began wearing the deposits away until fantastical redrock shapes emerged. Even the fragile soils that ring the towers took thousands of years to adapt to the extreme desert environment. Now, these soils sustain antelope, bighorn sheep and bursts of spring wildflowers.

But it takes only a matter of days to destroy this delicate balance. When the Bush administration allowed 50,000-pound "thumper trucks" to crash through the desert in search of oil and gas in 2002, scientists said up to 300 years might be needed for the soils to recover from the damage. Permanent energy development -- which would deface the desert with a network of roads and pipelines, towering wells and pumps and massive waste pits -- would be even more devastating. And the rapid growth of essentially unmanaged off-road vehicle use also presents an enormous threat to the spectacular national treasures of this region.

The Senate is seriously considering a bill that would permanently protect spectacular wildlands in southwestern Utah. But the bill (S. 2834) has major problems and needs to be improved for Utah's wilderness and for other wilderness-quality lands in other states.

Tell your senators to protect Utah's wildlands by opposing S. 2834 unless its serious flaws are fixed.

Photo credits: Fisher Towers, © www.robertglennketchum.com. Cougar, © AnimalsAnimals.