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)."
(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."
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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.
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.”
