~~BEAR ESSENTIALS: April 30, 2018~~

v   Type in Address to Find Your Commissioner Voting District

Attention citizens in San Juan County District 3--  Rebecca Benally and Kenneth Maryboy are the only two candidates running for commissioner in this district. Both are running as Democrats in the primaries, and there is no Republican candidate. If you’re registered as a Republican the ONLY viable way you can vote is to request a democratic ballot for the primaries.  Please contact Janet Wilcox 678-2851 or respond to this e-mail Before May 4 if you’re willing to do this!  Rebecca has gone out on a limb multiple times to help us in the Bears Ears fight.  She needs our support NOW in getting reelected! 

  

v SPEAR Meeting Tues. May 1 Monticello Court House 7 PM

Anyone who has an interest in maintaining their access to public lands is invited to attend. This includes not only ATV riders, but also jeepers, hikers, bikers, and others. Spear is an organization that not only builds and maintains trails, but fights to insure your public access rights are not denied 

v Dr. Mike Kennedy, candidate for Utah senator will be in Monticello May 22, 7 PM at the Hideout.  Get your questions ready.

v John Curtis video on Utah issues, including Bears Ears

n  President Trump Signs Antiquities Ex. Order April 26

The Antiquities Act does not give the federal government unlimited power to lock up millions of acres of land and water, and it is time we ended this abusive practice.  This executive order will end this egregious abuse of federal power, and give that power back to the states and to the people, where it belongs.

n  Phil Lyman Runs for Utah House of Representatives

n  Chris Herrod Running Again for US House of Representatives

n  Commissioner Benally Active in Promoting Positive Changes

n  What’s Happened to DOI Execs since Zinke’s Swamp Draining

n  US President and Vice President Speak : Role of states and public lands/ accomplishments for this administration.

n  Rebecca Benally Appointed to Tribal Treasury Advisory Board

n  Maffley Again:  Did SJC Orchestrate Charges Against Chilcoat as Relatiation?

n  Free Range Report’s take on the case: Poor Me Defense

n  Wild Earth, et al, Continue to Promote Recreation Over Jobs

n  Robert Redford Opines on Scott Pruitt of EPA

n  Senators Protest Zinke/ President Trumps Resizing of Bears Ears

n  Patagonia’s View of Bears Ears

n  Are Anti-fracking/ drilling Groups Acting as Agents for Russia?

n  Dine’ Bikeyah Appeals to United Nations to Solve Local Problems

n  “History” Review Promotes Fallacies, Bigotry and Name Calling

n  Arrow to the Heart: The Custer Battlefield Museum vs the Fed. Gov
                 Other Articles/ Events of Local Interest                                               

v The Transformation of Arches National Park; Other Pending Trends in Grand County

v Public Lands: The Looming Catastrophe

http://beyondthebears.blogspot.com/

            Documenting Bears Ears “No Monument” efforts since July 2016                                                                    

~~BEAR ESSENTIALS: March 24, 2018~~

*Phil Lyman Running for 3^rd District Representative

* Meet March 26 to give Input on Management of Bears Ears

          Write to the BLM by April 11 (follow link above)

* Utah DOGM Preserves Mining History

* Zinke Focused on Draining DOI Swamp

“Zinke proposed reorganizing his department giving more authority to regional offices. His reasoning was that managers with their feet on the ground have the most knowledge of their resources in order to foster multiple use management, the mission of the Department of Interior.”

v  Get Ready for the First Bar-B-Q of Spring  Vegan humor

v  Come to  Founders Day/Fry Bread Festival April 6-8

 n  On-line Initiative May Help Diversify Rural Utah Economies

 n  San Juan County Featured on Discover Utah

 n  Please Attend Public Input Meetings for Bears Ears NM

n  Garfield Cty, Colorado Defends Ranchers AUMs

n  Blanding, Gateway to Bears Ears

n  Yale Politco Looks at Bears Ears Objectively

n  The Right To Bear Arms: State by State break down  SRT

n  Organic Marketing Rule Withdrawn by USDA

n  Shake, Rattle, and Troll with Rep Paul Gosar of Az

“March 4, we heard Congressman Gosar’s response to several subjects that included Clean, Drain & Dry, the 2nd Amendment, Buffalo in the Grand Canyon, the quandary of Feral Burros and Horses, the destruction of the desert southwest because of illegal immigrants and much, much more.”

n  House Committee on Natural Resources; John Curtis Bill  Video 

n  Natural Gas Development in Uintah Basin Could Benefit Schools

n  Colorado Woman Asks Supreme Court to Restore Mining Claims

n  Colorado Commissioner Recall Gets Dirty

n  Land Grab: The Conspiracy to Own Natural Resources in the West

n  Feds Collude With EPA to Put Farmer out of Business

n  Concerns about Sports Businesses: REI specifically

n  Native American Rancher’s History of Harassment and Loss

                Other Articles/ Events of Local Interest

v Lake Powell Pipe Line Meeting March 22-23  Sun Independent

v A new Form of Government in the Works for Grand County

v Pipe Line Is Not Worth the Cost  Opinion/Josh Warburton

v Grand County GOP Says Korenblat isn’t a True Republican   

v Pod cast: Heritage Voices and Bears Ears:  Friends of Cedar Mesa

v Related Article:  in San Juan Record

v Backcountry Archaeology Experience: Bears Ears, only $2,496 

v Contact for 3^rd District Representative:  John Curtis https://curtis.house.gov/contact/email

                                                                 ~~~~~~    

v Strange but True San Juan Connections

v Bluff Founders Day Schedule Attached                 

 http://beyondthebears.blogspot.com/          

                     Documenting Bears Ears “No Monument” efforts since July 2016                                                                     

San Juan Hill is Sacred to Many San Juan Residents

                     “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture

is like a tree without roots.”        Marcus Garvey

                                                                                                                    

There have been many fear mongers who have tried to drive a wedge between stake- holders concerning Bears Ears National Monument.  I greatly appreciate that local agencies are giving all county residents this opportunity to respond and hope you will both listen and read carefully and respond accordingly.

Over 35 years ago, I helped to prepare several annual reports for Utah Navajo Development Council (UNDC).  As I worked with that agency, one philosophy that stood out dramatically, was their mantra: “Those most directly affected by decisions, should have a say in those decisions.”  I believe that is a wise and productive philosophy in managing families, businesses, and public lands.

I recognize that public lands should be available to the public, but I do believe that local residents living adjacent to the lands affected, should have a decidedly stronger influence on policies.  We live here; we are impacted regularly, (for some daily) by government decisions.  Ours is not a seasonal visit, or a well-funded campaign that entices tourists to come.  We love and care about San Juan County, every day in multiple ways.

 For this reason, policies that affect livelihood and landscape must protect the rights of citizens in those counties and states.  State sovereignty must be protected, or we become a colony to an overreaching federal government, which early patriots warned about over 240 years ago. Monuments should never be used as a tool by environmental special interests to prohibit traditional activities such as mining, grazing, farming, off-roading, hunting, water storage, or other forms of economic development within the counties.

One of my concerns is that “sacred lands” must be available to those who hold them sacred. This applies to both Native and Anglo people of San Juan County.  As these groups strive to preserve their culture and heritage, they need to have access to those sacred sites. I have helped to collect, write and publish San Juan County history for over 30 years (Blue Mountain Shadows), and I am particularly passionate about passing on the torch of understanding and appreciation of culture and history to the next generation – of both Anglo and Native alike.  We must give the current, and future generations “roots” if the valuable lessons of the past are to continue.

One such “sacred site” is San Juan Hill, the last, and almost insurmountable obstacle to the original Hole in the Rock caravan of 1880. In order to perpetuate and preserve the significance of that pioneering expedition, there is no better teacher than experiencing the difficulty and dedication of those long-suffering pioneers. For that reason, youth groups must be afforded those valuable experiences that cannot be replicated through books.  They must experience hardships, if they are ever to learn they can do hard things.   I urge you to treat all San Juan County cultures with equity and validation, and allow them opportunities to learn, understand, and perpetuate their valued history and culture in these national monuments.

~~BEAR ESSENTIALS: March 10, 2018~~

*March 14 Wallace Stegner Center Symposium:

Public Lands in a Changing West

A few of the Red Flag topics and presenters: The Dynamic West: Economic & Demographic Change
Ray Rasker, Headwaters Economics; 12:50 p.m.

Thursday: 12:30 Utah’s Monumental Controversy: Revisiting the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
John Ruple, University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law (Moderator)
Steve Bloch, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
Constance E. Brooks, C.E. Brooks & Associates, P.C.
Nicole Croft, Grand Staircase Escalante Partners

2:45 p.m. – Sage Grouse Conservation: The Challenge of Multi-Jurisdictional Planning

*Mike Noel Retiring after 16 years in State Leadership

    *Who Speaks for the Colorado Plateau? High Country News

Is “the role of environmental groups is to save the Colo; Plateau FROM

the people who live there?"

  *Pay attention to Voting Districts: Things have changed in SJC

(Vint DeGraw has posted several clarifications in San Juan Political Debate: Scroll)
*Stay in Contact with 3^rd District Representative:  John Curtis  https://curtis.house.gov/contact/email

n  Utah Farm Bureau Defends Monument Size Reduction

"Grazing allotments in the monuments are not just land, they are the linchpin of the Western ranching community. The Farm Bureaus’ member ranching families manage the natural resources on these lands for both their livelihood and wildlife."

n  Sean Reyes Plans Suit to Give States Control of Public Lands  KUER

n  Sec. Zinke Working to Rebuild National Parks Infrastructure 

Zinke’s page is a good FB site to follow, as there is much going on in DOI, and lots of opinions.

n  Bill Demands Fair Compensation from “in lieu of” taxes from Feds

n  Des News Contradicts NY Times Accusations Regarding Bears Ears

n  Harrison Johnson Speaks out at District Realignment Hearing

n  Local News Live: Voting districts, Energy Fuels & More  Bill Boyle

n  Com. Lyman asks Judge Shelby to Recuse Himself in Voting Decision

n  BLM Should Move West  Nevada Appeal

n  Arrow to the Heart Documents BLM Abuses in Wyoming

n  Utah House Resolution Exempts State from Future Land Grabs

n  Rep. Mike Noel Proposes Renaming Highway to honor Pres. Trump

n  This Bill was later withdrawn, but it woke up a lot of people up!

n  Top Stories of 2017 in the Four Corners  Four Corners Free Press

n  Tourism Remains the same, in spite of Resizing Grand Staircase NM

  

n  Americans Pay a High Price From Destructive, Deadly Forest Fires

n  Mt. Valley Tribal Park Investigated

n  NY Times Version of the Downsizing of Bears Ears

n  Ute Leader part of Deep Pockets Environmental Board

n  Conspiracy Against American Farmers

n  Federal Government Incapable of Taking Care of more Public Land

“These days, [The Dept. of] Interior spends over $200 million a year buying land. That raises the perennial question: how much is enough? The government already owns 635 million acres, almost a third of the United States. That includes 250 million acres of BLM, 193 million acres of national forests, 84 million acres of national parks, and 150 million acres of wildlife refuges. And as the maintenance backlog demonstrates, the government cannot begin to manage it all.” 

n  Grand Canyon Trust Files Suit Over Mountain Goat Damage

n  BLM’s Thugocracy Lives On

n  Greenhorns Try Their Hand at Staking Mining Claims

Other Articles/ Events of Local Interest

v Mitt Romney Attends SFW Banquet in Blanding

v Legislator Calls For Giving State Park Status to Hole in the Rock Trail

v Tribal Groups Call for Creation of Indian Affairs State Cabinet Position

v Local Explorer Visits Paleo-dig for Fossils

v One Cowboy’s Stand For Freedom, The Levoy Finicum story

v Help Support Free Range Report – Truth in the West

                                                                 ~~~~~~                                        

 http://beyondthebears.blogspot.com/          

                        Documenting Bears Ears “No Monument” efforts since July 2016