Wealthy CEO faces criticism after using taxpayer money to raze thousands of acres of forest: ‘I’m concerned’

A wealthy Utah software executive is under fire for a land-development project that has destroyed thousands of acres of forest land and taken money from taxpayers.

As The New York Times reported earlier this month, Mike Siaperas “has bulldozed swaths of forest on his property and an adjacent state preserve” in hopes of creating a luxury hunting resort.

However, an investigation by The New York Times and The Salt Lake Tribune revealed that “state lawmakers appropriated more than $5 million to support Mr. Siaperasa’s forestry work.” Although only half of that money was paid to Siaperasa, it illustrates how he used taxpayer money to support his projects that had a detrimental impact on the environment.

Siaperas reportedly has a patented tree-clearing technique called “rolling,” which, according to the Times, “can clear as much as 100 acres of forest in a single day.” The method involves using a cable stretched between two bulldozers, held in place by a 10,000-pound barrel in the middle that can uproot anything in its path without getting caught in the trunks.

To test the technique, Siaperas received more than $1 million in state funding for a 2020 logging trial that cleared 900 acres of forest on two private ranches. He then won a bid to clear 825 acres on Currant Creek State Reservation in 2023 after the original 2022 proposal was amended to accommodate his capabilities.

To further emphasize the point, Siaperas rationalized his method by claiming it would have various ecological benefits. He even used his nonprofit, the Atlantis USA Foundation, to obtain government funding for his log-cutting company.

The Times noted that although Siaperas declined to be interviewed, he had previously cited reasons such as “preventing forest fires” or “fighting drought by reducing water-consuming conifers” to explain why his method of clearing trees was necessary. However, climate experts have questioned the validity of these claims and criticized him for disguising harmful practices as beneficial ones.

“It looks to me like nothing more than a hobby project with a thin veneer of science,” Ben Abbott, a professor of ecology at Brigham Young University, told the Times. “I’m concerned about the process we went through to approve something like this.”

Siaperasa’s projects are examples of “greenwashing,” the practice of companies or individuals misleading about the environmental benefits of their products or activities. Greenwashing can be a serious threat to real progress in environmental protection because it can mislead the public and decision-makers about the true impact of certain projects.

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Siaperás used political donations to forge connections with influential allies who supported his projects, regardless of their harmful environmental impact. The Times noted that “scientists say they worry about the long-term consequences” of Siaperás’s projects and explained how harmful his method could be.

“Using heavy equipment to cut down trees leaves a lot of debris that the state must remove to prevent wildfires. Clearing large areas of forest leads to erosion and pollution of water supplies. And scientists worry about the impact on many species of wildlife, not just game,” the Times said.

To combat greenwashing, it is crucial to support political candidates and policies that are committed to tackling the climate crisis. Staying informed and voting for environmentally conscious representatives can help ensure that the projects and policies being promoted are truly beneficial to the environment.

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