•
eliminating its contribution to our national psyche and removing an essential element from the national consciousness.
"Wilderness has always fueled our imagination, nurtured our sense of freedom and kindled our entrepreneurial energies. Without this taproot into our past, we will forget what we have been and may not like what we become. Our relationship with the land has both nurtured and challenged us, giving us those characteristics we consider uniquely American: heartiness, ingenuity, curiosity, toughness under fire, individualism, passion, creativity, warmth, good humor, optimism and hope.
Excerpted from "Decision Time" by Ka ren Shepherd in Testimonv.' Writers of
the West Speak on Behalf of Utah (Mi lkweed Editions). Written specifically to anthol ogy succeeded in influencing President
target members of Congress, but failing to change their coll ective vote, the Cli nton's executive decision to set aside some 1. 7
million acres in southern Utah under The Grand Staircase-Escala nte National Monument legi sla- tion-enacted without congressional approva l.
