What is most appalling is the single handed, close minded approach pushing this legislation through Congress. The results of 45 town meetings were ignored when it was shown that 73% of people actually supported protecting 5.7 million acres of wilderness or even more! Within Congress, the bill was included with a group of 59 other conservation bills, which were all lost because Utah refused to remove its proposed legislation, despite overwhelming Congressional pressure. If they had dropped their proposal, the other bills would have passed and become law. To me, the facts were clear. Even if Dave Pacheco had not spoken with such ardent zeal or brought mounds of information or heart breakingly beautiful slides, the evidence was overwhelming that a few were ignorning the desires of the many. Whether it's fear of "locking up the land" or resistance to change, the opponents of wilderness preservation need to see the entire picture. Utah is a huge state and to protect a small portion of it from development is not "locking up the land." No one is suggesting that we ban industries, halt development, or exile ranchers. They are an integral part of the balance of Utah both as a place of growth and as a place of beauty. Critics could assail me for making any judgement towards how Utah's land should be utilized. I do not live there and have only vacationed there twice. Let's go beyond talks of boundaries, human privileges, and animal and plant rights. Let's go deeper than issues of resource use and legislative power. We are talking about the simple notion that places need to exist where nature can just be left alone and where we can go, just to be alone. As Henry David Thoreau said, "In wilderness is the preservation of the world."