"I stand united with many other Utahns who want to protect the scenic splendor of the Escalante Canyons. However, it is critical that we protect the rich assets in that area. It would have been possible to protect the area, preserve the asset and maintain the integrity of our democracy. President Clinton chose to ignore his high public trust by unilaterally turning a huge part of our state into a national monument. He had the legal power to so this, but in a democracy, power creates an obligation for public discussion and review so the best solutions can be reached. Having ignored this basic obligation, the president now has a greater responsibility to carry out the next phase of this discussion with meaningful public involvement and process so that the best results can be achieved. In the last 24 hours of discussion before this decision was announced, I communicated these concerns directly to the president. The American people will hold him to this standard of democracy as this discussion continues."

Before the designation of the monument, Governor Leavitt traveled to Washington D.C. for meetings with the White House to remind them of a proposal he presented two years ago to establish a Canyons of the Escalante EcoRegion. "This concept would protect the spectacular scenic beauty of the region while preserving its economic benefits. This would also be true to the democratic tradition of important public land decisions being made in a deliberative process in the full light of day," the governor said. The governor's Canyons of the Escalante discussion paper was a cooperative effort of the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget, the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Utah Travel Council, the Bureau of Land Management, Garfield and Kane counties and the Utah Department of Natural Resources.