Dear State Director, Roberson,
Welcome to Utah, and all the
sticky issues you'll be dealing with. You must be a man of grit to accept
this State position, but I hope you are also a man of wisdom.
I am not a true “local” of San Juan
County, having only lived here 45 years. But I have a great passion and love
for all things historical, cultural, and environmental in our county.
I taught English and Journalism at
San Juan High school 1984-1999, and on Utah's Electronic High school for seven
additional years. During that time, I and two others started a regional
historical magazine in 1984. Blue Mountain Shadows has published two
issues a year since then, plus sponsored, cultural events, folk festivals, and
historical forums. We have published 54 issues. Several of those issues
have been cooperative efforts between the BLM and San Juan County Historical
Commission. If you are interested in receiving copies, please let me know
and I will send you some related to the issues you fell heir to. I think
they would give you a broader perspective of the people: Ute, Anglo, Navajo,
and Hispanics, as well as what comprises their culture and the land we all
love.
The divisive issue of Bears Ears has
given many outside of our county a false perception of what San Juan County is
like. We love our public lands, but find further restrictions brought on by a
National Monument excessive, and even detrimental to keeping this pristine land
healthy; based upon Grand Staircase Escalante, do we not see any economic
benefits either. I do agree that we need additional BLM rangers on the
Cedar Mesa area, and had the Federal Gov. not been $20 Trillion in debt, maybe
that would have happened before now! Had we not been the target of
militant Dan Love-type BLM militia raids, and falsehoods told to our county
commissioners by the BLM, we would still be on somewhat good terms with this
agency. We also resent the excessive money spent by wealthy environmental
groups and foundations who lobby against SJC, the poorest county in the state.
Those are some of my concerns.
Thank you for your time, and let me
know about the magazines. The State BLM office may have the three
Cottonwood Reclamation magazines already. But there are others that would be central
to the controversies you have inherited.
My blog: http://beyondthebears.blogspot.com/ contains what has happened since July, when I got
involved in this political issue.
Sincerely,
Janet Wilcox
No comments:
Post a Comment