As soon as my husband and I entered the wide-open space of Bear River Refuge, I felt a release of tension. It was tranquil, and beautiful in its openness and solitude. Studies report on the positive health effects of the outdoors. Nature is a tonic. The outdoors is also an economic driver in Utah. Last year, income from outdoor recreation increased 22% to 3.4 Billion dollars, more than the mining industry. But spending time outdoors in dirty air or polluted environments is harmful. While our legislators work hard to provide jobs for potential future Utahns, they must also protect open spaces, clean air and water. But they could do better. The unabashed, tax-subsidized growth of Inland Ports harms our air and water quality by paving over wetlands and endangering the Great Salt Lake. Allowing for the expansion of mines damages land, uses scarce water supplies, and adds pollutants to the air when the aggregate is not needed. Millions spent in illegal lawsuits to grab public lands under the guise Utah is a better manager, is not only deceitful, but dangerous. Utah’s “better management” is offering the lands to a small group of developers, like they have done with the ports, opening more lands to fossil fuel extraction, and going all out on nonrenewable energy production when renewables are more cost efficient. Legislators are gleeful to work with Trump to destroy our public lands, yet polls report 3 out of 4 Utahns want national monuments protected and the majority recreate outside. We must tell legislators: Protect our monuments and lands; Stop UIPA from destroying wetlands; and tell Trump to keep his drills out of our cherished lands.