Here's what I sent, a short & sweet version;
Dear Members of the Utah Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environmental Quality Appropriations Subcommittee,
I am writing to support a February 5, 2019 request by Rep. Steve Handy that Utah fund $5 million for a state “Restore Bonneville” program. This money would leverage an additional $45 million from the federal government and approximately $2.5 million from the land speed racing community.
The Restore Bonneville program would implement H.C.R. 8, a resolution sponsored by Rep. Handy and Sen. Peter Knudson in 2016 to support restoration of the Bonneville Salt Flats. The resolution was unanimously passed by the Utah House and Senate and signed by Governor Herbert.
Bonneville is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and deemed an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. Until 1997, salt removed from Bonneville for potash processing under leases issued by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was not replaced. Since that time, the current leaseholder has pumped some salt brine back onto Bonneville, but the results are tiny in comparison to the quantity of salt removed over many decades of mining, and the effort is nowhere near enough to stabilize the salt crust.
I treasure our national monuments, including Bonneville, please help us preserve this historic place for future generations.
Sincerely,
