Comb Ridge Sale: Shame on Who?

Sent to Des News, SJR and Times Independent   10/27/16

     Yes, there should be shame, but not because STATE SCHOOL TRUST LANDS were sold to a private bidder, but because extreme environmentalists don’t want to share any land with anyone except Conservation Land Foundation devotees.  They are using everything in their power and in their banks to force local Native Americans, Anglos, and Hispanics away from a land they chose to live in, here in San Juan County.  These are families with local roots to San Juan, who didn’t migrate to more enticing lands in Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico centuries ago.  

     Unlike the opposition who follows the dictates of the CLF, these locals oppose a National Monument because the CLF does not want free enterprise, access to public lands, grazing rights, or a strong tax base in San Juan County. They don’t care about jobs and improved schools They are against private enterprise and they would be delighted if everyone moved away. 

     Moreover, CLF followers don’t want to share any of the 1.9 million acres they greedily seek in this current “campaign” for National Monuments, which involves not only Utah, but Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, California.  (Hawaii, Maine have already been checked off their bucket list.)

      The State of Utah covers 52,696,960 acres. They have already given up 35,033,603 acres to 13 different national parks/monuments.  That means the Federal government owns/ runs/ manages 66.4% of our state. And they say Utah is greedy?!  The scenario in San Juan County is even worse. Only 8% of San Juan County’s 5,077,120 acres is privately owned.    

    Those with a socialistic mind set don’t seem to grasp the idea that private property rights exist in the proposed Bears Ears monument area.  Some areas in that coveted land do NOT meet the definition of “public lands”, including 43 grazing allotments, 661 water-right infrastructures, 151,000 acres of state trust land, 18,000 acres of private property, and hundreds of miles of roads and infrastructure which are granted a RS2477 right-of-way. 

     This leads us to the most recent whining of the week--Comb Ridge.  The actual Comb Ridge wilderness consists of 17,400 acres; HOWEVER, adjacent to Comb Ridge proper exists SITLA land. SITLA land is not "public land", it is STATE land. Even though local people have long used it for their personal playground, they were trespassing.  

     Two weeks ago 391 acres of SITLA land were sold by the State to the highest bidder.  That land would be .02% of the total Comb Ridge acreage.  And the playground bullies don’t want to share even that pinpoint of land with anyone else.  In the bigger more coveted landscape of 1.9 million acres, 391 acres comprises only .0002 %.  Additional SITLA lands take up another .079 % of the ill-conceived 1.9 million acre monument.  I suppose there will be whining about that too, when legitimate companies who pay taxes and support schools are able to purchase and utilize state lands.  Shame on YOU for not being willing to share.  Is compromise not in your vocabulary?

Janet Wilcox  Blanding, Utah

Bear Essentials Oct. 30, 2016

Bear Essentials

--New Bears Ears Organization was voted in this past week.  After after 5 months of hard work the “No Monument” is getting organized.  The official name of our group is Stewards of San Juan County.

The president is Jami Bayles, Co-vice presidents are Suzette Morris and Ryan Benally, Secretary is Eva Workman and Treasurer is Wendy Black.  Kim Henderson is north county out-reach rep. Once the group expands, those willing to work can pick what committee they want to work on. Contact any of the officers if you want to help.  We also encourage you to be good stewards whenever you are on the land, water, or right at home.  We will be organizing a “clean up project” in the future to bring awareness stewardship.

-- Keep on speaking out via Facebook, newspaper article commentary, twitter, etc. We need to keep stirring things up.  (This article wouldbe a good one to comment on: 

Stewards of San Juan County encourages everyone who is concerned about land issues to also start participating in public meetings and giving input.  We need to be better informed.

--Attend Meetings, participate in discussions, write comments related to land use

1.  Nov. 3:   meeting 5-7:30   Monticello Hideout Event Center.  Forest Plan Revision Workshop.  Will discuss all resource areas and multiple use.  Recommendations will be completed Winter 2017. (What’s going on going on up on the mountain? Helicopters took bundles, load after load, up there a couple weeks ago. We heard they were installing a "fiber optic line." Construction equipment has also gone up there. I just saw more heavy equipment, followed by two semis hauling pre-fab bathroom buildings.)

 2.  Due Nov. 11: Scoping comments related to drilling wells in the Blanding sub-basin oil and gas development area.  See p. 14 San Juan Record

3.  Due Nov. 14:  Comments related to BLM Jeep permits, and events. (See p. 4 of newest San Juan Record.)

Newest videos from Sutherland Institute :

--ElmerHurst Deer Flat Farm: 

 --Energy Fuels Uranium Mill

--Great quote:  A wealthy man’s playground should never come at the expense of a working man’s home.

--This video was created by Blanding City and discusses water.  Another excellent view: 

Facts related to Comb Ridge.

Out of 17,400 Comb Ridge acres, the state of Utah owns 1000 of those acres or 1.05%.  The 391 acres sold to Lyman Family Farms is only .02% percent of the total acreage of Comb Ridge, yet some folks don’t want to share or compromise.

SIGN OUR PETITION, UPLOAD YOUR STORY.  http://www.savebearsears.com/  

Most recent stories added came from Elmer Hurst and Steve Lovell.  Steve wrote a great overview and plea for Scouting on the Blue Mountain.  It was in the San Juan Record this week. I will attach a copy for you who don’t subscribe.  (You should, as they have an electronic edition, Wed. of each week.)

OTHER UPDATES: http://beyondthebears.blogspot.com/

Blanding Water: The Best in the West

Where does your water come from? What does it go through to get to your family? Watch this video and find out. It's an amazing story of so many people over the last 100 years who worked hard and sacrificed to make sure we can enjoy this basic necessity. Let's make sure we are doing everything we can to conserve this precious resource, and the mountain from whence it commeth.  View this wonderful video made by the city.

Blanding Water Resources

The official site of the BLM

A good place to go to for current information related to BLM and opportunities to give input. The Environmental Assessment for February 2017 Oil and Gas Lease Sale closed on Oct. 17, 2016. Those concerned about these issues need to stay informed and start participating.

 This site also has an archive of the Bluff hearing when Secretary Sally Jewell visited out county.  These help to show the varied views as well as how local San Juan County residents were out numbered.   http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en.html

https://www.doi.gov/video/secretary-jewell-under-secretary-bonnie-join-utah-local-leaders-public-meeting-hear-community-1-of-4

Bear Essentials Sent Oct. 23

Beyond Bears Ears 10-23-16

There have been lots of significant events in the Bears Ears Monument fight the past few weeks.

--Last week I emailed you the full 85 page advisory document relative to illegalities should  a designation be implemented.  I hope you’ve read and shared it.  This should be a game changer. If you didn’t get it, let me know.

-- Mail in ballots are out now.  Please study all candidates carefully before you vote. Hopefully Trump’s Gettysburg platform will be a game changer, if you’re sitting on the fence.  With Supreme Court Judges pending, we can’t afford to gamble on independent “wanna be’s”. 

Read full coverage of the speech:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865665427/My-view-Republicans-must-unite-behind-the-party7s-nominee.html?pg=all

--The Controversial State land sales involving 391 acres of State School Trust lands, turned out quite differently than any of us expected.  Hole in the Rock Foundation was outbid, once it passed $300,000.  So it was between the Environmental Conservancy group and Lyman Family farms.  The conservancy group dropped out at $485,000, and LFF got it for $500,000.  Definitely a dark horse winner, but one with whom we hope the Hole in the Rock Foundation will be able to work.  Read News Story

-- The fall out the Conservation Lands Foundation worried about in 2013, is starting to happen.  CLF had discussed what would happen if the native collation they created started disagreeing with the CLF’s “manipulative” plans.  Secretary Jewell has had to contend with Willie Grey Eyes several times already, as he feels the Navajo Tribe needs even a stronger say in “managing” a new National Monument.  Related News Story

--Two UTE members of the Pro-Monument Coalition were not re-elected  (Read Story)  to council positions, so now they don’t really represent the Utes. Will CLF continue to pay them as “consultants?

--Washington County Commissioners have officially thrown their support to San Juan County.

--Maybe the articles we’ve been sending over to SW Utah, have helped.  It is also good to comment on line when opposing views are published.  Our voices need to be heard, but don’t sink to the level of nastiness you’ll find there.  Think of Blue Mountain, and take the high road. https://beyondthebears.blogspot.com/2016/10/national-trust-of-historic-preservation.html

--Steve Lovell and Adell recently wrote a good article about the history of scouting on Blue Mountain, which would surely be in jeopardy if a Monument is designated.  Here’s a short segment of it, with the full essay is attached.  

“Public land is a MUST for operating this scouting program.  But it continues to be swallowed up by National Parks and Monuments which are not scout friendly.  Scouts are young boys who are learning how to conduct themselves in public places; they are often rowdy and not pleasant to be around.  It is a time in their lives that they make mistakes and need correction.  Many of these boys come from dysfunctional families.  Scouting is the only place that some of them learn the valuable lessons of how to behave in public.  It is an excellent time for a trained adult role model to have the opportunity to make positive changes in a young man’s life that will prevent him from becoming a juvenile delinquent. Too many young men die in violent crimes every day. Scouting helps prevent such tragedies.

During an era when gang violence, and rebellion against civil authority runs rampant, we are operating a program that teaches the exact opposite behavior to 88,435 boys.  Environmental groups are declaring they want to save the land for future generations.  To a twelve-year-old boy the future is now. They need outdoor experiences NOW if they are going to learn to be the kind of citizens that we can enjoy living with in the future. Investing in Scouting has lifelong benefits.”  No one knows better that these two how valuable our mountain is to the scouting program.

Byron Clarke and Shawn Begay two of the Blue Mt. Dine' Leaders

--With all that in mind, I encourage you to not give up.  Keep stirring the pot, get our message out to the world.  Think big, have faith, pray often, and doors will open. Thank you for your help.   (Please remember Shawn Begay in your prayers.  He is one of our freedom fighters, who is suffering from severe arthritis; he’s not even 40.)  

--Also, please write your family’s story related to the land of San Juan, so it can be uploaded to show the world your involvement and stewardship of this place we call San Juan.  View others stories at http://www.savebearsears.com/   Call me if you have questions. 678-2851

--I try to keep a running log of current articles and news directly related to the Bears Ears issues.  Read updates on: https://beyondthebears.blogspot.com  

Top Bid for Utah Trust Lands Goes to Lyman Family Farms

SALT LAKE CITY — The president of a Utah farming corporation outbid Mormon history buffs and conservation groups to snatch up nearly 400 acres of school trust lands in an area that could become enveloped in a Bears Ears national monument should it happen.

The Comb Ridge parcel sold for $500,000 — $200,000 above what defeated competitors offered — to Lyman Family Farm's Joe Hunt, who responded, "What Bears Ears?" when asked.

Lyman Family Farm prevailed in a number of bidding wars at Wednesday's Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands auction that garnered $5.5 million for the benefit of the permanent school trust fund, which distributes money to Utah schools.

The Hole in the Rock Foundation wanted the 391-acre parcel at Comb Ridge adjacent to federally managed lands to lead youth groups on historical and cultural tours of an area that was blazed by Mormon pioneers over the winter of 1879-80 in a treacherous journey.

Read more

‘Monumentalism’ – BLM Land Grab Via Misuse Of Antiquities Act in Oregon

The Federal Bureau of Land Management intends to double the size of the current 66,000-acre Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument by securing an additional 64,000 acres of existing public and some private lands — including some O&C lands (Oregon and California Railroad Revested Lands) from Oregon and about 10,000 acres from Northern California — via executive order of President Obama.

This would severely effect the traditional and customary uses of all these acquired lands, and would ultimately affect all recreational sports, including hunting.

Environmentalists at and around Southern Oregon University apparently were given special notice of the meeting ahead of other key stakeholders and opponents to the proposed massive expansion, and the environmentalists organized well in advance, even telling their supporters to wear blue. They are now using the flawed science regarding “climate change” to help justify what amounts to just another public land grab by the BLM.

Read more:

Grazing on Public Lands Defended by Utah Farm Bureau

Statement from Utah Farm Bureau:
“In Utah, we have seen more than 70 percent of historic grazing AUMs cut or suspended through federal agency management actions. The establishment of a new national monument provides one more tool to the federal agencies to reduce livestock grazing. Let’s consider what the impact of displacing or terminating even a single average sized family cattle ranching operation would be:

Utah is a cow-calf cattle production state with cattle and calves contributing more than one-third of the state’s agricultural commodity sales. According to the Salina Livestock Auction, feeder cattle arriving from across Southern Utah for auction generally averaged between 450 - 550 pounds and were valued at about $1.75 per pound or $875 per head. An average cow-calf ranching operation with 500 mother cows and a 95-percent calf survival rate adds more than $415,000 in direct cattle sales to the local economy.

Based on a conservative economic multiplier effect, as feeder cattle sales dollars are spent in the local economy, that single family ranching business is the catalyst for more than $750,000 in rural Southeast Utah!

If you take a regional look at the number of mother cattle, in Southeast Utah’s San Juan (14,300), Garfield (17,700) and Kane (8,200) Counties, there were 40,200 mother cows that spent time grazing on federally managed lands in 2015. Those family cattle ranches generated more than $33 million in direct feeder cattle sales and contributed in excess of $50 million to the rural communities they support year ‘round. And this is a contribution that renews itself every year with the new calf crop.”

Hurst Family Has Farmed in Bears Ears Since 1940's

National Trust of Historic Preservation is Untrustworthy

Published Oct. 12, 2016 in the St. George Spectrum

By Janet Wilcox

45 year Blanding resident, retired school teacher and co-founder of Blue Mountain Shadows

On Oct. 5 the National Trust of Historic Preservation issued a press release stating, that “the Bears Ears region has been added to its 2016 list of 11 most endangered historical places.”  To the unwary mind, “historical preservation” seems like something we should all believe in.  But believe me, this is not a national organization you can “trust.”

UTHP was chartered by Congress in 1949, and in 1966 when Congress passed the national Historic Preservation Act, Congress also provided federal funding to support the National Trust’s work, and it was federally funded for 30 years!  Thankfully, today it is privately funded.  But where do those private donors come from?  What countries do they represent? Why have they shifted from preserving historic buildings and sites, to vast landscapes like the Grand Canyon and Bears Ears?  The antiquities act of 1906 was designed to protect specific features under immediate threat, not to be used as a landscape management tool.  The current administration has overused this executive ax, as it hacks away at state lands throughout the nation.

In 2013 the National Trust of Historical Preservation had an annual expense budget of $52 Million and paid out approximately $3.8 million in grant support; another $23 Million went to payroll for 497 employees, 36 of which were paid over $100,000.  That sounds like a lot of money and people to micro-manage your state and mine.

One of their 2013 smaller grants for $7,500 went to Utah based Friends of Cedar Mesa to develop two films showing why the greater Cedar Mesa “is deserving of protection.” Basically they fund organizations who will promote their pre-planned preservation agenda. If Cedar Mesa were still their focus, it would likely qualify as a site worth protecting because of thousands of Anasazi sites, but that is no longer the focus.  Acting on environmental whims and avarice, the proposed monument of 2013 suddenly expanded in Dec. 2014 onto a very important mountain range in San Juan County, including The Blue Mountains, Elk Ridge, and Bears Ears. This location is a dearly beloved and valuable resource to all of San Juan County. From this mountain has come much of their wealth, recreation, solitude, and resources.

The article did get one fact right, “low federal agency staffing” has made protection of some of the proposed Bears Ears 1.9 acres a problem.  And why is that?  It’s because our nation is now dealing with a $20 Trillion debt.  Currently US National Parks and Monuments are under a 2 year deferred maintenance totaling nearly $11.5 Billion. Utah alone is behind $278,094,606 in park maintenance.  There is no money to support EXISTING parks, much less new ones.  If our nation has to be bailed out again in 2016, what foreign countries are paying the bills, and how much US land collateral are they accumulating?  The power of a nation is in its land and citizens who care about it.  Don’t give more Utah land away. There are at least 13 such parks, monuments, wilderness areas in our state.

San Juan County is already home to six of those federal designations/ destinations:  Natural Bridges Nat’l Monument, Hovenweep Nat’l Monument,, Canyonlands National Park, Dark Canyon Wilderness area, Grand Gulch Wilderness area, and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.   We have learned from others’ mistakes, that tourist destinations have a heavy negative impact on public lands. We want to keep these lands pristine, as Secretary Jewell so aptly described them when she visited in July. The environmental scare tactics would tell you otherwise, but they are not based in reality.  Come visit our public lands and see for yourself.

San Juan County residents, Ute, Navajo, Hispanic, and Anglos are against converting another 1.9 M. of public county acres, into another poorly cared for National Monument. Private property rights exist in the proposed Bears Ears monument area, that do not meet the definition of “public lands”, including 43 grazing allotments, 661 water-right infrastructures, 151,000 acres of state trust land, 18,000 acres of private property, and hundreds of miles of roads and infrastructure which are granted a RS2477 right-of-way. 

Sign our petition, join our protest, and let sovereign state’s rights speak louder than rich lobby coalitions. www.savebearsears.com

Feel free to share this link: http://www.thespectrum.com/story/opinion/2016/10/13/trust-me-we-cant-afford-give-away-bears-ears/92024728/

Letters to Donors to Conservation Lands Foundation

To Whom It May Concern,

     I am concerned about the exorbitant financial efforts environmental groups like your foundation, are putting into securing more and more land in the USA under the guise of environmental protection and I have to question your real motives.  Since you are one of those “generous” donors to The Conservation Lands Foundation, I wonder why you feel this urgency to designate more monuments and parks, when you know full well our country is nearly bankrupt and can’t afford to take care of the parks and monuments it already has?  

Why do you now pick on Utah’s Native people, and rural residents, as you seek 1.9 Million acres to be locked up as part of a Bears Ears monument?  San Juan County is the poorest county in the State of Utah. 53% of our school children are Native American. We need jobs and resources, not more controls and social programs. If you cared about our country, its existing parks and monuments, and its citizens, you would be making donations to specific parks and local schools.  This would show true concern for the land.  The Bears Ears area in question, is already “public” land.  Everyone is welcome to come visit, hike, hunt, ponder, and enjoy.  However, the BLM is understaffed.  Maybe that is where some of your money could go.

     Here is why most San Juan citizens don’t trust the National Monument agenda: 
#1 Utah is already full to the brim with Nat’l Parks and Monuments.  

#2 State’s rights have been trampled upon time and time again by the Conservation Lands Foundation and their cronies.  First the “Monument Men” come with promises that things will not be affected, MUCH, by a National Monument.  Then they decimate logging, mining, oil, and coal industries and the tax base that these companies provide and which support our schools. Next they start reducing the AUMS for cattle grazing.  The next to be impacted are the stable family businesses which are replaced by seasonal recreation and tourism jobs.  This in turn affects school enrollment, and families are driven away from the rural life style they and their ancestors have loved and worked for all their lives.  (This scenario is still playing out at Grand Staircase Escalante NM designated 20 years ago.)  

#3 And instead of protection, last year 1400 cases of vandalism dotted that Staircase acreage -- all caused by tourists.  This is not what we want in San Juan County, Utah.  Please reexamine your causes, and pick those that truly bless the land and the people who care about it.  Support existing “public” land policies which allow for multiple land use while protecting the actual areas where ancient cultures lived, not mountain ranges where watershed, and recreation are better managed by local input.  The original designation of the Cedar Mesa area was a more honest and needed focus for environmental concerns, and there are actually “antiquities” there.    Maybe you need to come visit the area, to actually understand the issues.

Janet Wilcox

How To Fight Eco-Tyranny In America

Column written by Brian Sussman, bestselling author of Eco-Tyranny: How the Left’s Green Agenda Will Dismantle America.

Imagine owning a portfolio valued at an unfathomable fortune, and yet you’re bankrupt. Government laws are preventing you from tapping your assets.

There’s no need to envision such a scenario, because as an American, it’s a reality—you’ve been hustled by a federal government beholden to the green agenda.

The feds now own nearly 700 million acres of property; land brimming with natural resources vital to our founding principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The tragedy is our government is purposefully keeping the bulk of those resources—oil, natural gas, minerals, timber and water—out of our reach.  And the government wants to control even more. 

Federal land ownership was never the intention of this nation’s founders. Other than land necessary to maintain a limited, central government, the first Continental Congress recognized that such owning land, and the associated natural resources, would offer a government too much power; after all, a tyrannical future regime could decide to withhold those resources from the people. So concerned were they about this issue, that in October 1780, even prior to the ratification of the Articles of Confederation, the Congress adopted a general policy for administering any North American land transferred to the Federal Government:

The lands were to be “disposed of for the common benefit of the United States,” and were to be “settled and formed into distinct republican States, which shall become members of the Federal Union, and shall have the same rights of sovereignty, freedom and independence, as the other States….” Additionally, the lands were to “be granted and settled at such times and under such regulations as shall hereafter be agreed on by the United States in Congress assembled…”

It may surprise you that this was written MAY 7, 2012.  

By now you can see we are in the middle of this nightmare.  Read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/energysource/2012/05/07/drill-it-dam-it-log-it-how-to-fight-eco-tyranny-in-america/#44e01bad5675

Founder of Patagonia Decries "Funhoggery" of Recreationists

Yvon Chouinard says the outdoor life-style thing is leading to the death of the outdoors.

NICK PAUMGARTEN’S PROFILE OF YVON CHOUINARD in the Sept. 19 issue of The New Yorker magazine is being widely circulated and causing quite a stir.

Excerpts: "Chouinard recognizes there are limits to the ethos and pathos of conquest, and while funhoggery can be a medium by which young recreationists are eventually transformed into conservationists, every individual, like it or not, bears personal responsibility to refrain from consuming the rare, finite, and few remaining wild places merely because we can.  One does not get a free pass to exploit while one is young, based on the premise that it might conceivably lead one to take up the cause of conservation later.

There is power in self-restraint. Native Americans knew one iteration of its discipline through the act of counting coup—demonstrating warrior bravery and honor not by taking the life of an adversary but by touching the foe and backing away.  Often, the lament from mountain bikers and pack rafters is: “Well, why should we have to put up with restrictions if hikers or equestrians or anglers don’t?”

That, of course, isn’t the right question yet it marks the point of separation between recreation and conservation.  The right question is what must all users do—what will they give up— to insure the character of wild places remains?

If Greater Yellowstone is going to maintain its wild character, for wild creatures and places that can’t advocate for themselves, what will it take to keep them from ruination, from  becoming reflections of Moab or the Front Ranges of Colorado and Utah?  What little wildness remains is all there is, but given prevailing attitudes, for how long?  How much time it has is up to us."

“Warning: Parts may be unsettling, especially to those who believe that, by merely engaging in outdoor recreation or owning toys, they are, through some kind of strange osmosis, advancing the cause of conservation.”

“But this I know after writing about Greater Yellowstone and environmental issues for 30 years: More than ever before, outdoor recreationists, surrogates for some of the biggest outdoor toy manufacturers, are pressuring land management agencies to force the opening of ever-greater access to wildlands now functioning as refugia for solitude-seeking wildlife and which have not had to cope with many people.”  Canyon Zephyr

Read the full article.https://thebullseye.media/yvon-chouinard-co-founder-patagonia-says-need-stop-death-wild-outdoors/

Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition a Non-governmental Organization with no Jurisdiction

The San Juan County Commission approved a resolution on October 4 regarding the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition proposal to create the Bears Ears National Monument. The county resolution states that the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition is a non-governmental organization that has no jurisdiction over land-use planning activities in San Juan County.

The county resolution outlines several key points that Commissioners say are roadblocks to the creation of the proposed national monument. The resolution states that a number of property rights exist in the proposed monument that do not meet the definition of public lands, including 43 grazing allotments, 661 water-right infrastructure, 151,000 acres of state trust land, 18,000 acres of private property, and hundreds of miles of roads and infrastructure which are granted a RS2477 right-of-way.

The resolution adds that the proposal violates at least 18 established planning efforts, including a Memorandum of Agreement with the Navajo Nation. The resolution states that the coalition’s assertion of “rampant looting” conflicts with reports of local and federal law enforcement agencies.

In summary, the county resolution states that the proposal does not meet the “quality, utility, objectivity and integrity standards that are required of federal agencies for decision making.” It asks that the federal government follow existing federal law, which rules out an arbitrary and unilateral designation of public lands.

The Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition has asked President Barack Obama to create the Bears Ears National Monument using the Antiquities Act.
The proposed monument could be as large as 1.9 million acres, or 38 percent of the entire landmass of San Juan County. The resolution was approved unanimously by the Commissioners. It is part of a report on the proposed monument that was created by consultants at Stillwater Technical Solutions.

The report outlines procedural requirements, governmental prerogatives, and the required statutory process that would be required for the designation.
The county will present the report to elected federal officials in Salt Lake City on October 10 and to Department of the Interior officials in Washington, DC on October 12.

Locking up Land Would Impact San Juan Schools

In case some of you are still thinking San Juan County Schools won't be affected by a National Monument. Here is a likely scenario, written and prepared by long term school board member Merri Shumway. 

 "Here is an answer about Resolute Natural Resources. Resolute makes up 1/3 of all centrally assessed property in San Juan County. Other Oil companies, gas, mining and gravel together make up another 1/3 of all centrally assessed property. Centrally assessed property is 3/5 of our total local property tax revenue. There are numerous other small centrally assessed properties. (Ironically the Navajo Tribe is in the process of buying Resolute Natural Resources, the biggest tax payer in the county.)

Essentially our funding for schools could be down as much as 50% when we lose Resolute and if we lose access to the land that supports the other 1/3 of centrally assessed properties. What we would have left to tax is: is motor vehicles, personal property, real property (buildings) and real property (land). It is not legally possible for SJSD to raise the tax rate high enough to make up for these losses. 

I am not in favor of raising taxes in any event, but people in our county will have to get used to having far less services for their school children. The realities are really very grim. After I wrote and passed the resolution with Utah School Boards Association opposing the monument we had a discussion in our local school board meeting. We still have some work to do to help some understand that SJSD will be in a state of emergency and will just not have enough funding to pay for a quality education for our kids. We will lose kids in our schools because jobs here will be lost. Smaller schools result in fewer academic and extra curricular offerings for kids. I am currently working with Matt Anderson with Sutherland Institute to put information together to address the State School Board to urge them to pass a resolution opposing the monument."

Learn why a Bears Ears national monument would be especially devastating to the schoolchildren in San Juan County. 

Watch this Video, Visit our Schools; See our Concerns