What's New in the West
The County Seat: Exploring other forms of County Government
Despicable Behavior Revisited: Division, Demos and the 2020 Elections
"Ironically perhaps, former San Juan County Commissioner Benally also was systematically defamed over roughly the same period. She ran afoul of an insular, male-dominated county Democratic Party apparatus and its single-issue allies — the same kind of structural “patriarchy” many of Miller’s feminist critics believe he represents. Yet Benally found no support among progressives based in Salt Lake City; instead she found well-organized opponents.
That’s not surprising. Benally criticized designation of Bears Ears National Monument; she collaborated with high-ranking Republicans; she didn’t trust the federal government because of its dismal historical record on Native American affairs; and she had ideological disagreements with the party about the importance of local control over county governance and management of public lands. Specifically, she said publicly that:
- Converting sacred lands to a monument will ultimately be controlled by “bureaucrats unfamiliar with Navajo history and traditional ways.”
- The federal government has broken promises of trust responsibilities and formal treaties again and again and again for the past 200 years.
- Promises related to creation of jobs managing the monument are not guaranteed.
- The federal government’s history of managing national monuments on sacred lands has been inconsistent, even disastrous.
- Groups outside of San Juan County — deep-pocketed environmental groups — should not be able to dictate the future of the region’s lands or pretend to speak for Navajos."
- Bill Keshlear, Canyon Zephyr 4/1/ 2019
Audio Recording of SJC Work Meeting 4/2/19
Excessive Resolutions, Rebuffs, and best Remedies: Will they listen?
Audio Recording of SJ Commission Meeting 4/2/19
SJ County Attorney Kendall Laws Explains his Paper Trail of
Communication with Commissioners and Concerns about Lawsuit 4/2/19
~~ April 2 San Juan Commission Meeting Recording
Stand United Petition: Opposes Expansion of Bears Ears (sign on-line)
~~ Boos Conspiracy Plot to Remove SJ County Prosecutor
~~ Dispersed Camping Takes Toll on Public Lands Near Moab
"These public lands, sandwiched between U.S. 191 and Arches National Park, remain premier places to ride and view dinosaur tracks, but dispersed camping has taken a serious toll on the land and degraded the visitor experience.
Campers drive over soft soils in search of sites to pitch a tent, flatten vegetation, and leave behind mounds of fetid waste, according to the Bureau of Land Management’s environmental assessment of a proposal to consolidate dispersed camping into designated sites." Maffley
