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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Gary Herbert wrote a letter to President Obama on Monday, urging the president to refrain from any new monument designations in the state.

"There is a right way and a wrong way to determine land management decisions," he said. "Unilateral monuments are the wrong way. Ground up, open, public processes are the right way."

Herbert noted the 1996 designation by then-President Bill Clinton creating the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, an action that still stings.

"Nearly two decades later, this designation continues to be a source of mistrust, frustration and acrimony toward the federal government among local residents," he said. "I am certain that another presidential monument in Utah will likewise result in decades of resentment and conflict."

There is a right way and a wrong way to determine land management decisions. Unilateral monuments are the wrong way. Ground up, open, public processes are the right way. –Gov. Gary Herbert, in letter to Pres. Obama

Cody Stewart, Herbert's policy adviser, said the letter is in response to the continuing swirl of rumors and conjecture that a monument designation looms for Utah.

"There's always rumors out there, which is what is so troubling and frightening about this form of approach," Stewart said. "All you hear is the rumors until it happens. … We want to make sure again that the flag is planted and that the president has no question about Gov. Herbert's position on this issue."

In his letter, Herbert urged the administration to back off any unilateral decision, saying such a move would make it more difficult to implement public land policies in the long run.

Instead, the governor asked the president to let the Public Lands Initiative process play out that is being shepherded by Utah Republican representatives Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz.

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Does secret meeting mean feds are plotting new Utah national monument? Several top federal officials from Washington quietly attended a "Gathering of the Tribes" in southeastern Utah last weekend. It's the clearest signal yet that the Obama administration may be considering the creation of a huge national monument.

That effort has drawn together more than 100 parties of diverse interests trying to forge land-use solutions for a large chunk of eastern Utah, Herbert said.

"The relationships among these groups are historically strong, positioning us to work together on a range of public-land issues in the coming years," he said.

Obama has designated 19 new national monuments since he took office seven years ago, the most recent being a trio of designations in July in states that included Utah's neighbor, Nevada.

The move brought howls of protest from Republicans, most notably Bishop, who is chairman of the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee.

The letter also comes in advance of a visit this week by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, who is slated to participate in a discussion as part of the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in Salt Lake City.

Jewell oversees multiple land management agencies that include the National Park Service, which has more than 400 units that host 275 million visitors each year.

Utah's National Park System includes five national parks, six national monuments and one national recreation area and historic site.

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