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Bill Bowman
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Inauguration Day
Inauguration Day

First, my apologies for bringing up a political subject in a forum that some feel should be devoid of political opinion.

I spent today reflecting on the merits of public lands in the U.S., and the potential outcome of turning over Federal lands to the states, and subsequent sales of those lands to private individuals and companies. The possibility of this transfer is more realistic today with the recent bill passed by the House, making it easier to transfer Federal land to the states, and the inauguration of Donald Trump.

The view in this photo is on Federal land, but is within 1/4 mile of evaporite ponds that cover a significant area near Moab Utah (earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=83905&eocn...). The ponds are used to concentrate potash, a potassium bearing mineral used largely in fertilizer. (BTW my father was one of the chemical engineers who consulted in the construction of this plant in the early 1960's, so my early well being is tied in small part to its existence)

Clearly the current use of this land has merits in enhancing food supply for humans. However this area is also heavily used for recreation. It is conceivable that this area would be used to enhance the production of the potash mine, and become one of the next evaporite ponds., which are already quite visible from Dead Horse Point, the high point on the mesa in the center of the skyline. Access to this scenic area and the White Rim road may also cease. It would enhance the profits of the company that operates this mine, and may increase the supply of potash, of which the U.S. produces about 2% of the world's production. It would also seriously compromise the aesthetic value of the area. Is the loss of public access to this land, and the loss of tourist money worth the benefits to greater potash production? This is only a hypothetical possibility- as far as I know there is no plan for increased use of the area for evaporite ponds, but it provides a reasonable scenario, given the sentiment in the Utah state government.

My hope is that those in power will properly weigh the pros and cons of use of Federal lands, and the potential for transferring those lands to the states. Let's keep public lands public. Let's also remember people need to make a living. The two are not antithetical.

Photographic note: this is a 3 photo stack to enhance the sharpness throughout.

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Taken on: January 20, 2017
Tags: Everybody's photos tagged with Potash Road Potash Road Everybody's photos tagged with Potash mine Potash mine Everybody's photos tagged with Colorado Plateau Colorado Plateau more » Everybody's photos tagged with Dead Horse Point Dead Horse Point Everybody's photos tagged with Moab Moab Everybody's photos tagged with Utah Utah « less
Sets appears in:   • Colorado Plateau   
Camera: Nikon D800, f/13.0, 1/250 sec, 29mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Nikon D800
Lens: 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture: f/13.0
Exposure Time: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Focal Length: 29mm
ISO: 100
Exposure Bias: -1/3 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program: Program AE
Exposure Mode: Auto
Metering Mode: Multi-segment
White Balance: Auto
Sharpness: Hard
Color Space: sRGB
Software: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6.8 (Macintosh)
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