Western Coalition Speaks More
Softly But Still Carries Stick

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah —(AP)— Gone are the days of Clinton-bashing and dire warnings of a war on the West. Organizers of the Western States Coalition want a seat at the administration's table, and have promised to mind their manners if they're invited.

More than 250 western lawmakers, ranchers, miners, loggers and others tired of suffocating federal regulations and threats to their state and individual property rights opened the WSC's "Summit VII" Friday in Salt Lake with a notable lack of bombast. Sure, a few rhetorical grenades were lobbed, but it was a far cry from the harangue and table-pounding of previous summits.

As WSC administrative coordinator Clay Hatch pointed out, "You haven't seen a single picture of the president or (Interior Secretary) Bruce Babbitt with a slash drawn through it."

Indeed, the coalition is stressing bipartisanship, although all five morning speakers were past or current GOP lawmakers. The group is seeking a "new environmental ethic, based on hope rather than fear, solution rather than conflict, education rather than litigation," said co-founder and executive director Met Johnson.

Johnson, a gruff New Harmony, Utah, horse rancher and former legislator, said the kinder, gentler image is intentional.

"Four years ago, we were overwhelmed with things going against us," said Johnson, referring to proposed grazing, mining and other land-use "reforms" proposed by the new administration. "We were in trouble and we had to make a lot of noise to let people know what was happening."

In the meantime, he said, the coalition has grown from about 25 people to 4100, including lawmakers and "stakeholders" — ranchers, farmers, miners and the like — "representing 25 million Americans."

The tide turned, Johnson said, with the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994. Now, Johnson said, is the time for a peace offering to an administration long perceived as the enemy.

"We want to appear as statesmen," Johnson said. "What we're saying is, ‘We'll quiet the rhetoric, and you don't cater to the radical environmentalists.’"

To that end, the coalition has sent a letter to Clinton asking for a meeting as the administration gears up for the next four years.

"We hope to come to some agreement on goals for the coming term; to make certain cases for change," the letter said. "We would ask for a seat at the table when it comes to the selection of cabinet members with influence and jurisdiction over rural and Western citizens."

It's no secret, Johnson said, that the coalition would like to see Babbitt gone. The group also wants a voice in selecting a new head of the National Forest Service. Former forest service chief Jack Ward Thomas, considered a foe by the coalition, retired in October.

Johnson is plainly skeptical of these friendlier tactics, "But we have to pursue this first.

"Is there a chance of it working?" he asked. "Hell, I'd be lying if I said yes. But it's a fair question to ask why we should be posting anti-Clinton signs and then expect him to sit down and talk with us."

Others attending the summit don't see much chance for change, either. As far as they're concerned, the War on the West rages on.

"This is about losing our individual freedoms," said Ron Deen, a copper miner from Kearny, Ariz. "We've got to get Washington out of our hair. But, at the same time, I guess it's evident we have to try to work with them."

But the WSC will bend only so far. For five years, the coalition was mostly talk and chest-beating. Last month, it sued Clinton over his decision to set aside 1.7 million acres of Bureau of Land Management land in southern Utah as the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Clinton signed the surprise proclamation from the rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, never setting foot in Utah.

"We in this state were deeply offended by the lack of process involved," said state Sen. Leonard Blackham, a Moroni, Utah, turkey grower. "The environmentalists expect us to dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t.’ It's sad they were willing to ignore that process when it was to their advantage."

Keynote speaker Rep. James Hansen, R-Utah, the chair of the National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee, said the new monument has disrupted the lives and livelihoods of hundreds, if not thousands, of Utahns.

"And for what? Let's get honest. It was a photo opportunity for a man running for president," he said.