SJ Commission, Legislation, and Litigation ~~ 2/15/19

News in the West

San Juan County Commission Meeting

Tuesday Feb. 19 -- Monticello

Bluff Town Hall Meeting  

John Curtis is hosting a Town Hall meeting on Thursday, March 21st and wants to hear your perspectives and feedback. Please join him at the Bluff Community Center from 7:00 - 8:30 pm. Follow link to reserve ticket.

Follow Bills in the State Legislature

Lee and Romney See New Lands Bill Differently

State Legislature Considers Bills Impacting San Juan

San Juan Record Live News Coverage Feb. 13

Fired Editor Starts Indian Creek Observer

Canyon Echo Revives

Newest Edition of Canyon Zephyr

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Week-long Poll garnered 782 Responses

Asking Should San Juan County Be Divided? Results: 

 68% voted Yes, Divide

32% Voted No

         ==================

~~ Laws/Greyeyes Suit Appealed to Utah Supreme Court

~~Rep. Bishop Confront's Patagonia Falsehoods 

~~Aneth Shuts Down Maryboy's Effort to Change Position on Bears Ears

~~ 4X4 Event Raises Money for Public Land Use Organizations

~~Colorado Commissioners Environmental Lobbying Spurs Recall Effort 

~~States Deserve a Voice When Determining Endangered Species

~~Native Group Fights for Jobs and Wise Use of Resources

"National environmental groups Sierra Club and Grand Canyon Trust are behind the campaign to stop NTEC from acquiring Navajo Generating Station and Kayenta Mine by spreading false information and pitting Diné against Diné. Their desire to close both facilities threatens the lifeblood of our Navajo Nation – our tribal sovereignty."

~~Twitter Senator Mike Lee

~~House Bill Would Expand Bears Ears Monument Back to 1.9 Million Acres

~~Despite $500 Million in State Benefits, Friends of Cedar Mesa Sues Over BLM Leases

~~Oil and Gas Lease Money Pose Contradictory Reactions

" Hypocrisy at work in Bluff? CIB (Community Impact Fund) money has been used by the Bluff Community for years, ALL of which comes from The Utah Permanent Community Impact Fund (CIB) which is 100% directly appropriated from [tainted?] Mineral Extraction on Federal lands and BLM lease royalties.

iRONICALLY, we learned this week that Bluff’s Friends of Cedar Mesa filed a lawsuit against the very federal oil and gas leases that help fund the CIB. Is this an example of "Biting the hand that feeds you? or a game of Extreme Double Dipping? 

Suggestion: Use the lawyer fees now being paid to Advocates for the West lawsuit, to pay for Bluff improvement projects, instead of draining tax payer's money from two directions for extreme no industry agendas. JW"             

Summary of Bluff CIB Projects below: 

~~ More Irony, New Green Deal Won't Allow Mining of Required Minerals

"The Green New Deal proposes a massive expansion in the use of renewable energy technologies that rely on critical minerals we are not allowed to mine in the United States."

~~Conflict over Canal Roads/ vs "Urban Trails" in Colorado

~~LaPlata Commissioners At Odds With Ranchers/ Farmers

~~Vultures: the Emerging Federally Protected Livestock Scourge 

~~ Urban Vultures Use SL Tribune to Attack Representative Phil Lyman

~~ Four Corners Free Press:  Overview on Greyeyes Hearing

DOI Faces Future Without Zinke -- Bear Essentials

Opinions 12-19-18

Vote for Utah Citizen of the Year
~~
Rob Bishop and Sean Reyes are on Sec. Interior Short List
~~

America is at a Rubicon Moment in History by By Michael Shannon

(Allusion:  "crossing the rubicon": Julius Caesar's crossing the Rubicon river was an event in 49 BC that precipitated the Roman Civil War, which ultimately led to Caesar becoming dictator for life and the rise of the imperial era of Rome. ... Today, the phrase "crossing the Rubicon" is an idiom that means to pass a point of no return.)
~~

ZviDance will present the world premiere of Bears Ears in NYC

~~ Rollbacks proposed on Excessive EPA Water Regulation

~~ EcoWatch Screams, while Miners with Leases Go to Work 150,000 Acres of Public Lands Available Near Utah National Parks

~~ Benefits of EPA Reduction of Water Restrictions 
  "This means that hardworking Americans will spend less time and money determining whether they need a federal permit and more time growing crops, building homes, modernizing infrastructure, creating jobs and improving the lives of their fellow citizens."

~~ Sean Reyes and Rob Bishop on "short List' for Zinke Replacement

~~ Coal Production Up

     Varying News Reports on Zinke's Resignation

~~Washington Post:   "Interior Department Secretary Ryan Zinke submitted his resignation to the White House on Saturday, facing intense pressure to step down because of multiple probes tied to his real estate dealings in his home state of Montana and his conduct in office."

~~ Zinke to leave at End of Year: CNN  "Some possible contenders for his position include Deputy Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and Nevada Republican Sen. Dean Heller, who lost his re-election race, sources with knowledge of the situation said.

Zinke said in a statement on Saturday that he was proud of his work as interior secretary and called the allegations against him "false."

~~ New York Times Editorial Attacks Zinke "The New York Times ripped outgoing Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Saturday as a cheerleader for President Donald Trump’s “boneheaded” policy of “energy dominance.” The editorial noted that Zinke is leaving his job under the shadow of an” impressive number” — 15 — “ethics investigations.”

~~Pelosi Promises Tougher Gun Laws

~~ Why Wyss plans to buy $1 Billion in land to Save the Planet

       Response from Ben Burr: "You’ll notice that all of the land he plans to buy is in developing countries. This is just the latest instance of imperious Europeans colonizing the planet at the expense of indigenous peoples. History will be just as kind to Mr. Wyss as it has been to Columbus, Cortez, and Custer." 
Hansjörg Wyss was born in Switzerland, founded the medical device company Synthes and          now lives in Wyoming.

~~Wyss and Companies:  Bad to the Bone  2012 investigation 
"The company repeatedly ignored evidence of potential lethal consequences. Interviews with more than 20 former employees and surgeons involved in the Norian project, hundreds of pages of court transcripts, and company documents submitted in the case reveal that Synthes not only disregarded multiple warnings that it was flouting the rules, but also brushed off scientists’ cautions that the cement could cause fatal blood clots."

~~ Back Pack Grand Gulch with Conservation Lands Foundation $2600 in April 2019

"A portion of the trip costs goes to support the Conservation Lands Foundation's efforts to defend America's National Conservation Lands, including Bears Ears National Monument, while building and empowering the Friends Grassroots Network to protect them for the future. "