~~SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING July 23, Monticello
11:00 A.M. Commission Meeting
1. Executive Session to Discuss Pending or Imminent Litigation
2. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals Decision in Navajo Nation v. San Juan County Briefing & Possible Action
*San Juan County Commission can call a closed meeting at any time during the Regular Session*
"A citizenship question was on the decennial census forms from 1820 to 1950. After that, it was only included on the long-form census form. In 2010, the question was removed entirely by the Obama administration. The question remains on the American Community Survey, an annual population canvass that the Census Bureau conducts."
"Utah will gain 44 BLM staffers in a realignment that will move the agency's headquarters from Washington to Grand Junction, Colorado, the Department of Interior announced Tuesday."
"Commissioner Bruce Adams, who supported the appeal, said he was disappointed with the ruling. “San Juan County appealed the initial decision of Judge Shelby because it split apart our most populated city, Blanding, and left them without representation. We went to the 10th Circuit looking for a more fair solution. The decision that came down today is very disappointing and disenfranchises a significant portion of our community,” he said in a statement.
"in the November 1984 general election, voters approved the boundaries of the new voting districts. These voter-approved boundaries remained the same for nearly 30 years.
In the general election, 64 percent of voters approved the new voting districts, with 2,055 approving and 1,161 opposing.
"The federal government, on the other hand, has no skin in the game when it comes to shutting down monuments and national parks thousands of miles from Capitol Hill. For the feds, it's all a political game in Washington, DC. What happens in the communities bordering federal lands — many of them rural — is but a mere afterthought to people like Nancy Pelosi. But at the local level, access to local tourist attractions could mean a restaurant's ability to pay its staff with income from tourists."
"No less than five new hotels are currently being built (in Moab). Tourists are pouring in like the end is near and Moab is the only safe place.The sewer system can barely keep up.And yet, Moab and the State of Utah continue toadvertise the areathrowing more than $2.3 million dollars into promoting the area each year.
Regardless of the fact that the land is suffering, that the roads cannot hold the amount of traffic, that the sewer system is being overwhelmed, growing tourism in Moab continues to be a top priority. In 2017 more than 46% of Moab’s job force labored in the tourism industry compared with the 11% of Utah’s total workforce."
"I recently reviewed the 1984 issues of the San Juan Record to better understand the issue. I walked away from the process with an increased appreciation for what happened in 1984. I also had a growing concern about what happened in San Juan County in 2017.
In 1984, the process to create the voting districts, at several key points along the way, was a public process. This is in marked contrast to the process to create the current voting districts." San Juan Record editor, Bill Boyle
"A transfer of ownership of some roads in San Juan County, Utah, from the county to the Navajo Nation has resulted in disappearing road signs, general confusion, and spreading potholes.
Around October 2018, Manuel Morgan, a former San Juan County commissioner, noticed that the county roads signs in his community between Ismay and Aneth were missing.
“One morning they were gone – everywhere,” he said. “No county road signs to help people find us. No one told us the county roads signs would be taken down.” Four Corners Free Press
"trade tensions between the U.S. and a number of countries have heightened the need to assure adequate domestic supplies of minerals and metals.
Uranium, a crucial part of the nation’s energy supply as a fuel for power plants, is one of those minerals. Yet the country’s uranium production is near historic lows because of an international oversupply."
So, I'm hiking through Wire Pass which is a beautiful slot canyon that leads to an opening that's so breathtaking and sacred. It's a huge natural amphitheater that the Native Americans held so sacred. It's a huge natural amphitheater that the Native Americans held so sacred. You can actually feel it. I just get to the amphitheater and sit for lunch and notice who's here, I see a nice couple with two dogs soaking in the beauty. Then, I see a woman and daughter (I'm only guessing mother and daughter). I see the daughter open the metal box which contains a brief history of this historic place how sacred it was to the Native Americans and about it being unlawful to deface this area. I then stopped paying attention but then something drew my eyes over to where the girl was. I look and think she's carving into the wall but I see her mother watching her so I think naw, but curiosity got to me so I took out my camera and zoomed in. I yelled 'hey' to her and she walked away. I told her mother about it, I said your daughter just destroyed Native American Sacred history. I said look, she never said a word to me and walked towards her daughter. I was thinking she was getting her to bring her over when they both took off! Then, I go back to where I was sitting and I see a man letting his kids use this sacred place as a jungle gym destroying artwork. If you look at the picture with the name she carved you'll see it's right in the middle of petroglyphs This was all within 15 minutes of being there. No stopping this. It's going to be all destroyed soon. If you want to see this, best do it soon. I'm happy I can share these wonders with those who can't get here.
Update, she was caught. Here is the link https://www.facebook.com/120889757943366/posts/2519780228054295/?substory_index=0
~~ Agenda for July 2, Commission Meeting--Note new location
SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMISSION MEETINGMONUMENT VALLEY WELCOME CENTER - MONUMENT VALLEY, UTAHAGENDAJuly 2, 2019
9:00 A.M. Work Meeting
1. San Juan County Marketing & Promotion Initiatives Briefing - Natalie Randall
2. Budget Briefing / 2019 Tax Rates Discussion - John David Nielson, John Fellmeth, David Everitt
3. Status of Maintenance for Roads on the Navajo Nation - Ben Musselman, David Everitt
4. County Administrator Appointment Process - David Everitt
5. Public Lands Issues Report - Nick Sandberg
10:00 A.M. Commission Meeting
1. Approval of Minutes - June 10 & 18, 2019
2. Citizens' comments* (Please complete the request form - available at the door)
3. Designate the County's representative at the upcoming NACo conference
4. Ratify BLM Letter confirming participation as a Consulting Party in the Canyon Rims TMA - Nick Sandberg
5. Authorize Chair to sign comment letter regarding the draft Colorado River Management Plan and the draft Green & Colorado Rivers Mineral Leasing Plan - Nick Sandberg
6. Authorize the Chair to sign a Cooperative Agreement with Utah State Division of Parks & Recreation to install vault toilets at Hook & Ladder Trailhead - Ben Musselman
7. Ratify 2019 property tax rates - John David Nielson
8. Approve new hires - Walter Bird
9. Mental Health Board Appointment
10. Ratify approval of Reimbursement Agreement with SITLA for planning work in Spanish Valley - David Everitt
11. Commission Reports
The number of declared national emergencies—and how much we spend on them—is rising, yet one of the agencies tasked with handling national emergencies has been particularly opaque about its effectiveness."
"Nearly $12 billion is needed to repair infrastructure, mostly crumbling roads, at 419 park units managed by the National Park Service (NPS). The maintenance backlog grew $313 million in 2018 alone, federal figures state." So why would Dine Bikeyah want to resize Bears Ears back to original designation if the NPS can't even maintain what they already have? Free Range Report
"The maintenance backlog goes beyond just NPS-managed lands. In total, the Interior Department faces $18 billion in deferred maintenance when lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies are factored in."
Editorial Comment: "Back in 2016 and 2017 when were were actively fighting the 1.9 Obama Declared National Monument, this issue was one of the concerns we had, and it hasn't gotten any better. In fact, it's gotten worse, because now our country has a 22 Trillion debt! How can we suppose the Federal Gov. can take care of our Public lands, or Nat'l parks and Monuments when they are indebted to other countries? Collateral for debt appears to be the confiscation of more public land. Local and State control is in most cases better; they at least pay their bills." Janet Wilcox
"Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Office of Law Enforcement Services (OLES) director William Woody seems to have followed a path similar to that of his corrupt protege, Dan Love. Woody has been under investigation for numerous apparent abuses of power and mishandling of government funds since the time he retook the position in 2017. According to our source, on Thursday, June 13, Director Woody’s gun and badge were stripped from him and he was escorted out of the Department of the Interior headquarters in Washington D.C." Free Range Report
~~ Free Event: Agriculture/Legislative Convocation: Red Acre Center
Location: Monticello College: 1849 North Creek Road, Monticello Date: Saturday June 22, 2019 Time: 7:00pm Red Acre Center (RAC) advocates for local food economies and for small farmers in Utah. RAC has an impressive track record getting bills passed and building bridges that support food freedom. Online: redacrecenter.organd monticellocollege.orgPhone: 435 590 1661
"The American beef industry has long been a tasty target of the environmentalists and their allies in the animal rights movement. To understand the reason is to know that protecting the environment is not the goal, rather the excuse in a determined drive for global power. Their selected tactic is to control the land, water, energy, and population of the Earth. To achieve these ends requires, among other things, the destruction of private property rights and elimination of every individual’s ability to make personal lifestyle choices, including personal diet."
"The USFS says since 1994, bark beetles have wiped out over four million acres in the southern Rockies. The trees turn red, then brown, then become fuel for catastrophic fires."
"William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, whose endowment is in the neighborhood of $10 billion, is apparently not a direct contributor to UDB. However, since 2006 the nonprofit has directed $5.225 million to Grand Canyon Trust, which has greatly assisted the Bears Ears project with organizational sophistication and communication expertise."
Other Businesses Working against Multiple Land Use :
ArtPlace America, Colorado Plateau Foundation, Conservation Lands Foundation Patagonia, Inc. , Conservation Alliance, Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation
First Nations Development Institute, Community Foundation of Utah
Lush Cosmetics, Chaco Sandals, Wigwam, Marc Toso Photography
