Friday, March 29, 2019

Concerns, Collusion, and County Commissioner Agenda 3/29/2019

             What's Happening in San Juan and The Nation 

San Juan Record March 26  Weather Stats

San Juan Record 3/27 Issue Summary


Concerns Voiced About Spanish Valley Growth and Planning

A meeting on codes and ordinances for the Spanish Valley area will take place 
on Wednesday, April 3, at 7 p.m. in the Grand Water and Sewer office building 
located at 3025 East Spanish Trail Road in Spanish Valley.

Thoughts on Water Allocation in the West Canyon Echo

Supreme Court Wary of Redistricting Issues in States/ Counties

Tribes Urge Government to Ban Drilling Near Chaco Site 

County Licensing: More Power to Government? or a Needed Safeguard?

Audio News: San Juan Record March 20 issue

March 19 San Juan Commission Meeting  -- Video recording

Summary of Most Recent SJ Commission Meeting, Wendy Black













~~Senator Lee Addresses "Green New Deal":  Satire and posters!

~~Please sign and comment on this BE Petition if you haven't already

~~ Alaskan Natives Angry with Dems who want to close ANWA to oil and gas

~~BLM Leases on Public Lands in Utah for Energy Development

~~SITLA Representative Answers Questions about Proposed Bluff Solar Farm

~~Clarifying Aneth Chapter Position on Bears Ears

~~ Bluff Leaders Pass Building Moratorium: Write Zoning Building Codes"  Canyon Echo


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Monday, March 18, 2019

March Winds Stir up Old Issues 3/18/2019

Winds of Change and Investigation

(AND WOMEN!) 

Full Congressional Hearing: Utah National Monuments

President Trump Signs Bishop's Land Bill March 12, 2019

Summary of Public Lands Package

ALL 698 Pages of Public Lands Bill S 47

Congressional Hearings on Bears Ears:  KUER

Both Lee and Romney Vote to Block Pres. Trump's Emergency Border Wall


Petition to Study Possibility of Changing SJC Government 

"There is a petition in circulation for the registered voters of San Juan County to exercise their right of self governance and place a question on the ballot in November. The question is simply whether a committee should be formed to study the possibility of changing our form of government in San Juan County. We will vote on whether to study the issue and vote again on any proposed solution. All voices will have ample time to be heard as the citizens of San Juan County consider and debate this important question.

I encourage everyone to support the formation of a study committee by voting in favor of the question. But first, we need signatures to get the question on the ballot. We have a natural right to petition which is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. Let’s exercise that right. Please sign the petition. Anyone who would like to sign or help gather signatures please contact the petition sponsor closest to you: Suzette Morris - Aneth and Montezuma Creek, Wendy Walker Tibbetts - Spanish Valley and LaSal, Alex Bitsinnie - Navajo Mtn and Monument Valley, Tim Young - Monticello, Joe B Lyman, Janet Wilcox - in Blanding and anywhere in the county. Joe B. Lyman" 


~~Audio of March 5 Commission Meeting/ 11 AM


~~Sign On-LIne Petition Protesting Bears Ears Expansion




"SAN JUAN COUNTY RESIDENTS - Let your voice be heard! If you pay attention to the media you will see that our voices are being drown out. That San Juan County Commissioners support a 1.9 million acre monument and the assumption is that we must all now support it too. The petition is complete. Please SIGN IN PERSON if possible (See picture for locations). 
I have an online version I will be sharing as well. Over the next few months we will have on the ground grassroots efforts to travel San Juan County to petition signatures."

~~ Audio of March 5 Commission Work Meeting







~~Two County Commissioners Testify in DC For Expansion of Bears Ears


~~ Visitors died in Grand Staircase Because of Lack of Signage: Leland Pollack Testifies


~~Trump Tramps Native Rights? Escalante/Bears Ears Congressional Hearing


~~SJC Commission approves Resolutions Written by Ghost Writer


~~Agenda 21, and where is it taking the United States


~~ Logging Vs Recreation: Basalt, Colo




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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



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Wednesday, February 27, 2019

News in the West; Bad, Better, and Best ~~Bear Essentials 2/27/2019

News in the West: 


Recording of 2/19 SJC Commission Meeting  (start at 57:53) 

George Washington's Farewell Speech: Prophetic Advice

$22 Trillion Debt and both Parties say "Spend More" 

Utah Ranked #1 in "Social Capital" 

"Variables for ranking: family unity, family interaction, social support, community health, institutional health, collective efficacy, and philanthropic health"

Environmentalists Call on Herbert to Veto Bill Related to Spent Uranium

Current Government Policies would Rather Burn Forests than Log Trees

"Federal wildfire statistics show the average number of acres burned 
every year since 2000 is double what it was the preceding four decades."

Zinke Accepts Post with Lobbying Firm

Moab Council Votes for Moratorium on More Building











~~ A Good Site to Follow: Balanced Resources

~~ Winter Storms Help Against Four Corners Drought

~~ Senator Mike Lee Opposes Natural Resources Management Act

  1. It fails to reform federal land acquisition programs and adding new restrictions to how Americans are allowed to use land already under federal control. 
  2. 25 percent of all Land and Water Conservation Funds have been given to states while 61 percent of the funds have been spent on federal land acquisition
  3. LWCF keeps on buying new federal lands without securing any method for maintaining the land they already own. According to a 2017 Congressional Research Service report, the maintenance backlog on federal land is up to $18.6 billion
  4. The bill creates another 1.3 million acres of wilderness in the West — half of it in Utah

~~  2019 AUM Grazing Fees Lowered

~~Commissioner Adams Asks State for Litigation Help

~~Signs that Republican Tax Cuts are Working

 ~~ Rural Lands Bill "Reflects Utah Priorities, Op ed Mitt Romney, 

 ~~ Land Grabbing Avalanche of Bills Will Harm Rural Economies

~~ SL Trib: San Juan Should Build a Wall Around Itself

~~ N. Arizona Faces 1.7 M. Acre Environmental Land Grab 

In defense of mining: "Uranium and depleted uranium are critical to the U.S. military and our national security. The U.S. military uses depleted uranium in armor plating for tanks, Phalanx gun systems, armor-piercing munitions and cruise missiles, naval propulsion reactors, as well as A-10s, Harriers and other military and civilian aircraft. The U.S. Navy cannot maintain its global presence nor maintain its nuclear deterrent against countries like Russia without uranium. 
In 1986, the United states produced 100% of the uranium ore used in U.S. domestic nuclear reactors.  Today in 2018, 3% is produced domestically with virtually all of the remaining fuel for domestic reactors produced in Kazakhstan, under heavy Russian influence.  The U.S. desperately needs domestic uranium given this high 97% import penetration into domestic market. The U.S. Navy is fit-to-be-tied over the prospect of being dependent on Putin for uranium. The situation is untenable.
Americas’ 98 nuclear power plants provide clean energy while generating electricity for one of every five U. S. homes and businesses. Nuclear energy has unmatched reliability in the U. S. electrical system.  In 2014, as has been the case every year for the past decade, the nuclear industry’s average capacity fact (a measure of efficiency) was an electric sector leading 91.7 percent."

~~ State House of Rep. Gridlocks over County Government Bill


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Friday, February 15, 2019

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

News in the West


San Juan County Commission Meeting
Tuesday Feb. 19 -- Monticello

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

==================

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

~~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

~~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


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Friday, February 8, 2019

Conflict, CRA's, Commission: Bear Essentials 2/8/2019

What's New In San Juan and the Rest of the West?

Should San Juan Be Divided into Two Counties?

Possibility of Dividing County Studied 20+ years ago

San Juan Election Battles Continue by Jim Stiles

Commission Meeting: 2/5/19

Discounts for Sr. Citizen Camping, Likely to End


Pros and Cons of TIF/ CRA Financing for New SJC projects   by Stacy Young

"To date, San Juan County has formed a Community Reinvestment Agency (CRA) and invited applications for tax increment financing. (Blanding has formed a separate CRA; however, since it is the county that assesses the lion’s share of local taxes, most TIF action is likely to occur within the county’s CRA framework.) So far, two projects have applied for tax increment financing from the county-wide CRA. Both projects are seeking a property tax abatement of up to 75% and 20 years.
One proposed project is a 54-unit boutique resort hotel called Bluff Dwellings, which is already well under construction at the mouth of Cow Canyon. That project is seeking tax increment financing of $458,000, which consists of a $300,000 turn lane into the property from Utah Highway 191 plus $158,000 in other utility improvements serving the project.
The second project proposing TIF is a 70-room limited-service flag hotel identified specifically as a Marriott Fairfield. That project location is targeted for a vacant parcel on the north end of Blanding and is currently in the pre-construction feasibility stage of development. The investors in that project are seeking $1,250,000 described as general site improvements like parking, utilities, and storm drain facilities.

Kudos to School Board: article continues...

"Postscript. At the end of January, the Board of the San Juan School District voted unanimously not to participate in either the Bluff Dwellings or Blanding Fairfield CRA. I personally think this was the right decision, but what was probably even more positive than the result was the independence the board demonstrated in reaching their decision and the seriousness with which they took their fiduciary duty to all of the county’s schools. As outlined above, a sound TIF process is one that closely analyzes “but for” and “opportunity cost” concerns prior to implementing a TIF incentive.
Unfortunately, in far too many instances and in far too many jurisdictions, the participating government entity merely goes through the analytical motions when it comes to such questions. But the School Board in San Juan County treated these questions with great care and concluded that the proposals on the table did not satisfy this more rigorous standard of review. To the credit of the Board, the members spent a good deal of time and effort to become well-informed about the pros and cons of TIF, which enabled them to ask difficult, pointed questions and independently evaluate the answers they were given. Prior to the vote, Board President Steven Black produced a solid conceptual and financial analysis, which concluded that both proposals fell short for “but for” and “opportunity cost” reasons."  Stacy Young

~~ Senator Mike Lee Works to Protect Utah and San Juan County 

Against Aggressive Monument Designations:


  Lee's response: "Very honored to receive this letter of support from State Senate and House Majority Caucuses. Limiting the power of the federal government in Washington to unilaterally restricting how Utahns can use our public lands is one of my top legislative priorities. We all have heard from many constituents about the profound negative impacts monument designations can have on some communities in our state.   I am honored to continue the fight with my Utah legislative colleagues against this unjust law."

~~ Preliminary Budget for San Juan County

~~Get to Know your Navajo Neighbors

~~Executive Order on Managing US Forests

~~Navajo Tribe Negotiating to Purchase Generating Plant and Coal Mine

~~ Emery County Supports John Curtis Public Lands Bill

~~Ted Cruz and ChucK Norris: How to Pay for THE WALL

~~ Could be Good, Could be Bad: Larry Echohawk as State Counsel on Indian Affairs

~~ A Little Satire Now and Then is OK:  So I'm Sharing this Video  Enjoy!


Facts Speak Louder Than Opinions











~~ Maryboy Pressuring Aneth Chapter 

Aneth Chapter Meeting: Feb 13 @ 3:00 PM * * *

Commissioner Maryboy is currently lobbying the Aneth Chapter for a return to the original 1.9 M. Acres for Bears Ears.  In the past the Aneth Chapter courageously voted TWICE AGAINST BEARS EARS MONUMENT.
Their strong Independent Voting Membership is needed again Wednesday February 13th, 2019 @ 3:00 pm, chapter meeting.
Aneth Chapter understands the true nature of NOT allowing the monument to expand, cutting off resources like firewood to Navajo people who need to use the resources that public land provides. Free thinking Navajo people who are against Expanding the Monument currently in place need to exercise their right to vote, and not be controlled by outside puppeteers. Protect our local public lands via state and county action, not through a debt ridden Federal Government that operates with a $21 Trillion cash deficit.
"The Aneth Chapter also requested that No More National Monument designations be established in the State of Utah (2017)"
#NoMonumentalExpansion #VoteAgainstExpansion

--Alliances with Rich Environmental NGO's Taints New SJC Commission

"Here’s the $64,000 question: 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, see sidebar), 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?"

~~ New "Green" Deal Relies on Minerals Environmentalists Don't Want Mined: Catch 22 Alive and Well

~~~~~~~~~
 Information for Contacting Your County Commissioners
Kenneth Maryboy, Chairman
Phone:
Cell Phone:

 Willie Grayeyes, Vice-chairman
Phone:
Cell Phone:

Bruce Adams
Phone:(435) 587-3225
Cell Phone:(435) 459-1351
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