A movement to regulate about one-sixth of Utah as wilderness has inched forward a bit. Utahns should hope it stalls once again. Yesterday, the U.S. House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forest, and Public Lands was scheduled to take up the America's Red Rock Wilderness Act, which would designate more than 9 million acres of Bureau of Land Management property as wilderness. That would slam the door on development.

Before the howling starts, let's reiterate: Utah's landscape contains genuine treasures that should be protected. There's an extensive network of national parks, forests and monuments that are part of that effort. A few carefully selected areas that are not now covered could use protection.

But, let's face it, there are large stretches of Utah that would not be destroyed by mineral extraction or other commercial enterprises. With modern technology, there are places that could be developed without disturbing one minute of a single backpacker's contemplation of nature.

It's been said we have to save lands for our descendents, which is true. Yet, will our grandchildren thank us, or will they ask, "Grandma, Grandpa -- How come we have to live in a hut and burn buffalo chips to stay warm?"

The productive use of land remains the foundation of prosperity.

Within Utah there are many valuable sources of energy. Yet already nearly 80 percent of Utah is owned by governments or native tribes. That means it's difficult or impossible to make economic use of that land.

That, in turn, means fewer jobs. It also means less tax revenue. Liberals decry what they see as the state's stingy spending on social programs and education. But with four-fifths of the state producing little if anything, of course the state's resources are limited.

What should really rile Utahns is that there's a faction in Congress that wants to treat Utah as a amusement park for tourists, or to soothe the tender sensibilities of people who fly over the red rock country on their way from one coast to another.

As Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah's First District recently put it, "I'm kind of tired of Eastern liberals trying to brush up their credentials with certain environmental groups by saying they are going to be really tough on the West."

He's the ranking member on the public lands subcommittee that will hold the hearing, and we can only hope he doesn't back down. The other four members of Utah's delegation have said they'll fight the Red Rock legislation, and they should.

We'll reiterate a suggestion we've made before. The main sponsors of the Red Rock bill are Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Rep. Maurice Hinchey, from the 22nd District in upstate New York. The Utah delegation should target them for two turnabout bills.

We envision a "Prairie Preservation Act" to decree that 9 million acres of rich Illinois farmland be declared a wilderness, and restored to the grandeur of the prairie it once was.

The "Green Valley Act" could put 9 million acres of Hinchey's home district -- parts of the Hudson River valley, the Catskill Mountains and the Finger Lakes -- off limits to the kind of activities that environmentalists shudder at -- which is just about anything anybody wants to do.

Utahns are generally polite, however, so these suggestions will likely fall on deaf ears.

Seriously, though, judicious compromises could help shelter Utah's real jewels while allowing development that would boost the economy.

History shows it is prosperous economies that can and will do the most to protect the environment.

That won't be possible, however, until the Red Rock bill is defeated once and for all.

Then maybe we might have more sensible and productive discussions of how to manage Utah's resources for the benefit of everyone.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Should 9 million more acres of Utah be set aside as wilderness land? Send your comments to dhpolls@heraldextra.com or call 801-344-2942. Please leave your name, city of residence and phone number with your comments. E-mail comments should not exceed 100 words; voicemail comments should not exceed 30 seconds. The Daily Herald will publish a selection of the comments on Oct. 11.