NPCA criticizes Utah decision to allow coal strip mine near Bryce Canyon NP
Bryce Canyon National Park is renowned for its colorful amphitheaters and starry skies. Visitors to that park could, however, soon have to contend with convoys of rumbling coal trucks and dusty skies if a coal mine goes in roughly 10 miles from Bryce Canyon.
Earlier this week the Utah Board of Oil, Gas & Mining gave its approval for the strip mine near the tiny town of Alton, Utah. Barring a legal challenge, apparently only a multi-million dollar reclamation bond stands in the way of the mine's opening.
The mine is expected to produce about 2 million tons of coal a year, with coal trucks rolling steadily through the tiny town of Panguitch just west of Bryce Canyon.
“The board’s poor decision puts our local economy and a crown jewel at risk—Bryce Canyon National Park, which supports more than 1,800 local jobs and contributed more than $89 million to the state’s economy in 2008," said David Nimkin, the southwest regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association.