Showing posts with label Drought. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drought. Show all posts

Monday, March 11, 2019

Don't Bury Your Head in the Snow! March 11, 2019

What's New in the West

Photo by Marci Bothwell -- San Juan Record

Bluff Town Hall Meeting with John Curtis March 21


Congress Passes Massive Lands Bill, Utah will be Affected

"The program uses private offshore oil and gas revenues to pay for conservation of federal lands for outdoor recreation and provide grants for state and local governments to create green space and provide access to natural resources."   ...and where in Utah???  "an area in Utah where a high density of Jurassic-era bones are located."


Finanances, History, and Questions Related to San Juan County Commission

"Will the policies of the new pro-Bears Ears county commission begin to align — to varying degrees — with the goals of a grand alliance whose members include the foundation established by multibillionaire Hansjorg Wyss ($2.2 billion), Utah Diné Bikéyah, Round River Conservation Studies, Friends of Cedar Mesa, the Conservation Lands Foundation, the Grand Canyon Trust, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Earth Justice, The Wilderness Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, The Nature Conservancy, Packard Foundation ($7 billion), William and Flora Hewlett Foundation ($9.8 billion), Wilburforce Foundation ($115 million), Pew Charitable Trusts, Leonardo Di Caprio Foundation and some of the nation’s most prominent and politically aggressive outdoor recreation companies?"


Who's to win the Battle for Water: California Fish or Farmers?

Update on Bill to be able to Divide Counties, Sponsor Kim Coleman


How to File A GRAMA Request  

"The Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) provides every person the right to request records from any governmental entity in Utah (Utah Code Section 63G-2-201(1)."
__________


 63G-1-201. Official State Language:

(1) English is declared to be the official language of Utah.
(2) As the official language of this State, the English language is the sole language of the government, except as otherwise provided in this section.
(3) Except as provided in Subsection (4), all official documents, transactions, proceedings, meetings, or publications issued, conducted, or regulated by, on behalf of, or representing the state and its political subdivisions shall be in English."

Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Needs to be Carefully Studied  

-- by Stacy Young, Canyon Zephyr


Canyon Echo: Updates from Bluff and Beyond



Bill Keshlear: Observations on Future of San Juan Commission


Part Three: -- "TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, the relationship between the Navajo Nation and San Juan County will determine the success of the new Navajo-majority commission.Many Navajos in San Juan County probably feel like they’ve been abandoned by their tribal leaders in Window Rock, Ariz. It was a concern Maryboy testified to during a hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in 2009.

Maryboy was a delegate to the Navajo Nation Council — the tribe’s legislative body — a San Juan County commissioner and officer of Utah Diné Corporation at the time. He wanted the Utah Navajo Trust Fund, which was set up by Congress in 1933 so Utah Navajos would benefit from Aneth oil and gas royalties, to be administered by Utah Diné Corporation instead of the Navajo Nation and the state of Utah. He believed that given the Navajo Nation’s history of “neglect, unaccountability and malfeasance,” it lacked the capacity to administer the fund.

“San Juan County believes that the Navajo Nation government, which is located in Window Rock, Arizona, and provides few if any government services to Utah Navajos, does not have the best interest of Utah Navajos at heart when it asserts a vague argument of tribal sovereignty to wrestle away control of the Utah Navajo Trust Fund from Utah Navajos."

"The Navajo Nationʼs heretofore disinterest in its own members who reside within the Utah strip of the Navajo Nation is the very reason why San Juan County has stepped up to the plate to deliver essential government services to Utah Navajos. San Juan County has provided law enforcement, fire protection, emergency medical services, senior services, road maintenance, telecommunication and water services to the seven Utah Navajo chapters because the tribe in Window Rock does not.”

Part Four: Discusses Kenneth Maryboy's Involvement in questionable Tribal Government Activities








~~ House Bill 179 Passes; Would Protect County Roads from Illegal Closure

"This bill calls for a Class C Misdemeanor for illegally obstructing a road on public land."

~~ Follow Representative Phil Lyman on Facebook


~~Oil and Gas Leases help Fund County CIB Projects 


~~ Navajo Tribe Lauds Utah for Keeping Navajo Families in tact


~~ San Juan Moves Out of Severe Drought!



~~ The Utah Strip before Paved Roads: interview by Phil Hall with Ray Hunt

   "Mineral extraction has been a way of life since the first white men arrived on the Utah Strip, and it was mineral extraction which brought roads into previously roadless areas, electricity to dark places, jobs to people who wanted them. Gold, silver, copper, oil, gas, uranium, and gravel have all been mined here. These various boom and bust cycles have brought men to San Juan County who wanted to make their living while they could, for making a living in this poor country has always been, for most, a difficult thing to do. Some of those men stayed and raised families, and continue to live here today."


~~ Bluff Wants to Shut Down Oil and Gas Leases, yet Benefits from CIB Funds

"A midden of environmental activism, Bluff is undergoing a fundamental transformation with new hotels and restaurants springing up, hoping to get fat off the tourist industry. Friends of Cedar Mesa has been at the forefront of lobbying for increased tourist opportunities in southeastern Utah, most notably, the recent push to reestablish and expand the now-defunct Bears Ears National Monument. Tourism has become yet another rationale for locking up federally-controlled lands with new wilderness area, national monuments, and other restrictive designations.
Corporate environmentalism and industrial tourism go hand in hand, and in Bluff, the same enviros who embrace the anti-fossil fuel policies of the extreme left, are enjoying a financial boon from the very industry they are trying to destroy."

Expansion of Bears Ears Predicts Negative Effects for Native People

Commission Votes to Expand Bears Ears Monument

"In addition to increasing the size of the monument, the Bears Ears Expansion and Respect for Sovereignty Act would, according to Haaland’s office, “restore tribal consultation by requiring federal land managers to use tribal expertise to manage the monument’s lands and protect over 100,000 archaeological and cultural sites in the area.”

New SJ Commissioners Steamroll County With Ghost Writer Resolutions

Sierra Club/ Canyon Echo, Winter Issue



Sunday, January 6, 2019

2019 -- Times are a Changin' -- Bear Essentials and More

News in the West

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Utahans Will Pay more for Gas and Out of State Purchases in 2019

Normally, most citizens  believe we are already taxed enough as we pay for government services which are often antiquated, ineffective, and most often wasteful; however, when it comes to lost tax revenues which  affect our San Juan County Schools, I believe out-of-county shopping has been a great detriment to our schools, our teachers, and the services provided to our children.  

I know many people who prefer to drive 160 miles to Walmart, rather than support local stores. Thus they give those taxes to Colorado schools and agencies. Nor does Amazon and  other on-line services share any of their wealth with anyone in San Juan County. If we want a thriving economy in San Juan, without more businesses closing, we need to shop locally first.  Then, and only then, should we shop out of county, or at Amazon, or any other on-line business. Jeff Bezos has no interest nor concern about lack of services, personnel or materials in our schools.  I think requiring the collection and payment of out of state sales tax revenues to San Juan County is a good thing.  JW

Tribute to Mancos Times:  Renewal Project

Old News:  Opening of Bluff Bears Ears Visitor's Center Free Press


Suit Challenges Willie Greyeyes' Candidacy                 

The 15-page complaint filed with the court, claims, “Mr. Grayeyes is a resident of the state of Arizona, not of the state of Utah, thus he is ineligible to run for, or serve, as a San Juan County Commissioner.” 

The 15-page complaint filed with the court claims, “Mr. Grayeyes is a resident of the state of Arizona, not of the state of Utah, thus he is ineligible to run for, or serve, as a San Juan County Commissioner.” 
The 15-page complaint filed with the court claims, “Mr. Grayeyes is a resident of the state of Arizona, not of the state of Utah, thus he is ineligible to run for, or serve, as a San Juan County Commissioner.” 
The 15-page complaint filed with the court claims, “Mr. Grayeyes is a resident of the state of Arizona, not of the state of Utah, thus he is ineligible to run for, or serve, as a San Juan County Commissioner.” 


~~Petition Filed Dec. 28, Showing Greyeyes as Arizona Resident: 64 items

~~What are Public Lands to be used for?  Dexter Gill

~~Constitutional Amendment Proposed Limiting Congressional Term Limits 

~~Navajo Technical University Awarded 3.5 M Grant

~~Republican's Impressive Congressional Score Card

~~KSJD Radio:  Colorado Native Acting Sec. of Interior

~~ Utah's Pension Plan #8 in the Nation, While Other States Falter


Dove Creek "bills itself as the “Pinto Bean Capital of the World,” but the proclamation doesn’t attract many tourists – farming is still the primary economic driver here. In a typical year, Pribble will take in 3 million pounds of pinto beans grown without irrigation water – dryland beansThis summer, despite their admirable thrift, the bean plants withered in bone dry conditions. Southwest Colorado’s entire 2018 dryland bean crop failed, along with almost all of its wheat, sunflower, and safflower.  

Friday, July 6, 2018

~~BEAR ESSENTIALS: July 6, 2018~~




As submitted by Thomas Jefferson June 28, 1776
~~~~~
“San Juan County, for example, contains 3.1 million acres of public land — second only to Millard County. But because its population is just a fourth of Tooele County’s, its PILT take of $1.8 million is half that of Tooele, which has 2.1 million acres.”











Judge Chutkan will decide if cases remain in DC or move to Utah
n  History of Navajo Oshley On LIne Tells of the early days in Blanding




 



Escalante resident Simone Shumway Griffin responds: This makes me so frustrated. Guess what, if you get a flat tire in Escalante on Sunday, there’s still no way to get it fixed on Sunday. New houses and businesses are not going up here and we have a serious housing crisis. Why am I not surprised this was the Trib?

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Documenting Bears Ears Controversy and Public Land Issues since July 2016


Sunday, February 11, 2018

~~ Bear Essentials ~February 11, 2018~~


v San Juan County friends: you are urgently needed tomorrow Monday, Feb. 12th at 5:30 PM for a town hall hosted by Representative John Curtis. This is your opportunity ask those hard questions you’ve been complaining about related to H.R. 4532.  Even though the monument has been reduced substantially, there are questionable items included.  Meet at the Hideout Community Center in Monticello.  5:30-7:00 PM       Car pool if possible.
Linda Patterson:I found a better map. Apparently all of Elk Ridge and the Blue Mountain are being assessed for wilderness designation. The scary part about this for ranchers is: that when they created the Dark Canyon Wilderness they eliminated grazing in that area. Here is the map link https://www.fs.usda.gov/.../FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd547675.pdf

Without your voice the Green Swamp Will Continue to Grow  



Good News Bears
Dwight Lomaintewa, who lives in the Hopi village of Mishongnovi, said the 65-mile (104 kilometer) daily drive to Peabody Energy's Kayenta Mine is well worth it. A steady job means his family can stay on the reservation and his children can learn the language and traditions, the 33-year-old said.
Myron Richardson, a 42-year-old Navajo welder, said he was fortunate to get a job at the mine after being away from home for construction jobs. If the power plant and mine close, he said he'd likely have to move, and his children's cultural lessons with their grandfather would cease.”
A county commissioner’s poor job performance and conflicts of interest have spurred a group of concerned citizens in La Plata County, Colorado to launch a local recall effort. Calling itself the La Plata Liberty Coalition, the group is busy gathering recall petition signatures with the hopes of ousting Commissioner, Gwen Lachelt.
n Montana Senator Writes Resolution supporting Justice for Western Ranchers  “WHEREAS, A seventeen page whistleblowing letter, released by the federal government’s lead investigator (Special Agent Larry Wooten) in the Nevada standoff case, cited multiple cover ups within the federal agencies and a “widespread pattern of bad judgment, lack of discipline, incredible bias, unprofessionalism and misconduct, as well as likely policy, ethical and legal violations among senior and supervisory staff”

n  Be Good Stewards of the Land as Sportmen  Sec. Zinke sets the pace
n  BLM works on Reshuffling the Swamp.  Good?   Or Bad?
n  Petition to Free the Hammonds.  Your Support is needed

 
Bad News Bears

n  Environmental Hype Falls Flat: No one shows up!

n  If pro-monument advocates can’t control themselves to not illegally vandalize Utah’s public buildings, paid for by your tax dollars, WHO KNOWS what type of desecration they have in mind for Bears Ears.... This happened at the Utah State Capitol Feb. 10!
          
Other Articles/ Events of Local Interest


v Drought Conditions in San Juan; please continue to pray for snow!
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 http://beyondthebears.blogspot.com/          
                     Documenting Bears Ears “No Monument” efforts since July 2016