Sunday, April 16, 2017

Bear Essentials ~~ APRIL 16, 2017



Beyond Standing Rock. KUED Channel 7 ~~ Sunday April 30, 3 PM

~~ A Realistic View of the Bears Ears National Monument  Tribune Op-ed by Ryan Benally, Stewards of San Juan vice president
   ~~Charges filed against Franklin and Chilcoat  Endangerment of livestock SJRecord
          ~~Deseret News version                    
          ~~Salt Lake Tribune Version
*When commenting publicly on this story, or others which may be headed to court, It would be wise to step back and let the county pursue the charges.  Sometimes inflammatory remarks made in public have a way going awry and harming our cause.  Often anger speaks louder than wisdom.

 San Juan County ranchers/ farmers are invited to 2nd Annual Range Rights and Resource Symposium next month in Omaha, Nebraska. It's going to be an outstanding two days with speakers on private property and federal land management issues held at Bellevue University and will include a tour of the University of Nebraska Lincoln Research Center. For more info see http://rangerights.com 

  • Continue to write to all agencies within the Department of Interior. 

Bad News Bears 


·       Letter received from the Monticello BLM Manager:
Hello Ms. Wilcox,
To your point that when comparing maps, most routes looked like they were already open for use - You are correct that trails in the area especially up on the west rim of Recapture canyon have remained open since 2007, and thus have continued to be used by the public.  However, these routes were not designated as open to motorized use in the 2008 Monticello Resource Management Plan (RMP). Without this latest decision, motorized use would not be able to be continued since those were not designated routes.  In the RMP it states, “Actual route designations can be modified without completing a plan amendment, although NEPA compliance is still required.”  This environmental assessment was the vehicle to make the determination as to whether the routes should be added to the Travel Management Plan or not. If a determination would not have been made in this analysis and decision, there would have had to be a whole separate analysis to determine possible continued use of those routes in order to be in compliance with the RMP.  It is unfortunate that the headline or title put on the Press Release has been interpreted by many to infer far more than what was actually part of the decision.
          Don Hoffheins

********* 

For Bears Ears information the past nine months, go to

Saturday, April 8, 2017

Bear Essentials ~~ APRIL 8, 2017


n  April 12 noon: Beyond Standing Rock. KUED Channel 7
n  and Sunday April 30, 3 PM

n  Results of SOS fundraisers last week:  Ticket Sales at SJC Republican dinner brought in $390 plus the Glock pistol was generously donated by them.  An additional $1910 was generated by ticket sales, donations, and the cake auction at Comic Relief April 3. Eva Workman was the winner of the pistol.  Many thanks to all who purchased tickets both here and afar!  Donations will be used for No-Monument advertising and this Summer’s Freedom Fest.  Stewards of San Juan still have size Medium No Monuments shirts for sale for $8. Contact Wendy Black 435-459-1970.

n  If you need a bigger size, or choice in color go to Amazon.com and search “bears ears no monument shirt”.  These were designed by the Crippen family, and we get a % back from each sale.  Ours are a better price than the Pro-Monument shirts!

n  We are working with Sutherland Institute to expand our message via TV ads, and videos.  Find them here.  

n  Add this layover onto your Profile picture on Facebook.   http://profile.actionsprout.com/o/0B0058

n  Legal ramifications giving Presidential Authority to Revoke or Reduce National Monument Designations.  Video includes Mike Lee, Robb Bishop, focuses on the Antiquties Act which is always "behind the scenes."

n  Be informed and supportive of local businesses.  This Weeks Featured Business White Mesa Uranium Mill.               
      What Grand Canyon Trust says:

n  Rare Historic Photos digitized for public Use.  There are many San Juan County Ones.
n  Jim Keyes had a great article in the April Utah Cattlemen Newsletter.  Thanks, Jim, for the thumbs up. 
n  San Juan County ranchers/ farmers are invited to 2nd Annual Range Rights and Resource Symposium next month in Omaha, Nebraska. It's going to be an outstanding two days with speakers on private property and federal land management issues held at Bellevue University and will include a tour of the University of Nebraska Lincoln Research Center. For more info see http://rangerights.com 
n  Continue to write or call Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke. He is getting LOTS of pressure from the Green Urbanites as is President Trump.  Please stay engaged with your encouraging words of support and ideas.
Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke: 1849 C Street, N.W. Washington DC 20240
Phone: 
(202) 208-3100
Email: 
Email Dept. of the Interior

 Good News Bears


~Be sure to read Jim Stiles newest issue of the Canyon Zephyr. Especially the Bears Ears Alternative Solution

Western Republicans hope Trump will revoke some monuments created under previous presidents, but would also like to pass legislation altering the Antiquities Act, the 1906 law that allows the president to protect large swaths of land without Congress’s consent.

~Janet Chilcoat caught by cowboys interfering with livestock in SJC  Poetic justice as the Bears Ears Boys just dedicated a song to her Monday Night!

~DOI ends coal moratorium  Zinke steps up to the plate for oil and gas development. by Marjorie Haun
“Department of Interior Secretary, Ryan Zinke, former U.S. Representative from Montana, has made it clear that he intends to implement President Trump’s America-first energy plan. Leaving environmentalists howling–and likely gearing-up for an avalanche of lawsuits–Zinke is moving swiftly in both word and deed to make Interior the Department of Energy Independence.”
Bad News Bears




n  Extreme Green lawsuits delay BLM Payments to N. Mexico   New Mexico’s efforts to end its current fiscal year in the black are being complicated by a $69.9 million payment from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management that is delayed by protests of lease agreements.

n  Enviromental Tyranny caused by abuse of “Equal Access to Justice Act.”   By Marjorie Haun The Sue and Settle green machine game: …over a decade, eight environmental groups filed more than 3,300 cases in federal district courts across the country. In the last two years of the Bush Administration, seven groups filed 253 lawsuits; in the first two years of the Obama Administration, those groups filed 525 lawsuits…It is not only the sum; also outrageous is the hourly rate granted to environmental group attorneys. Instead of the statutory hourly ($125), these lawyers averaged $491; the highest rate awarded was $775!”

n  The National Park Service spent the most on administrative leave among DOI agencies, with 69 employees on leave for nearly 62,000 hours at a cost of more than $2 million. Indian Affairs put the greatest number of employees on administrative leave at 83, for a total of nearly 55,000 hours, costing $1.8 million. Read full story

~~ The Paradox of trying to Protect Forests   Trees need to be harvested to prevent forest fires.

~~  Stupidest Op-ed I’ve read this week:  Written by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia for LA Times******



Saturday, April 1, 2017

Bear Essentials* APRIL 1, 2017

 n  Plan to Come Monday Night April 3-- Bears Ears Comic Relief –  Donations Appreciated—Arts and Events Center
An evening of humor and fun providing “Comic Relief” will feature Grand Old Broads in Recovery, Lilly Tomblin at the Bears Ears Information Booth; and the infamous Bears Ears Boys 7 PM  April 3. Musical parodies, cowboy poetry, and skits are on tap along with Leonie and Allen Hunt, with a musical tribute to SJC. Please invite your like-minded friends and family to come enjoy this event. Jim Keyes will run the Cake Auction followed by the raffle drawing and pot luck dessert bar at the end. (Please bring something to share if you can). Come and enjoy!   Raffle tickets for a Glock 9 MM pistol will be sold for $5 each or 5 for $20. Donations and ticket sales will be used for No-Monument advertising.  
Event recommended for those 10 and up.

n  Petroglyph Video of Representative Mike Noel speaking at San Juan County’s Republican Dinner March 30.  (Thanks, Monte Wells.)  After the event, Mike drove back to Kanab, arriving about 3:30 AM.  What a road warrior he is!  Want to thank him or communicate? (mnoel@kanab.net)  Thank you, Cody Nielson, Sterling Black, Vint Degraw, the organizers of the Rep. dinner, for inviting him to come Thursday.
n  Sutherland's Institute, in conjunction with Stewards of San Juan has created a new Website and Facebook page to help keep track of the Bears Ears National Monument.   Please Like their/our page  https://www.facebook.com/RescindBearsEars/ and visit RescindBearsEars.com for more information.

n  Sign Petition to Rescind Bears Ears  and get your family/ friends to do likewise.

n  Continue to write or call Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke. He is getting LOTS of pressure from the Green Urbanites as is President Trump.  Please stay engaged with your encouraging words of support and ideas.
Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke: 1849 C Street, N.W. Washington DC 20240
Phone: 
(202) 208-3100
Email: 
Email Dept. of the Interior

n  Interested in Old Blanding City Council minutes?   These go back to 1916! 

 Good News Bears

“[Zinke's] view is that we have too many people working in Interior in Washington, D.C., when the work that needs to be done is out in the states and particularly in the West, and he wants to move a lot of the management decisions and a lot of the people from Washington out to the states...”   Yay for Zinke!!

·       Showdown on Government over-reach addressed at Dodge City, Kansas convention.  “A coalition of Navajos and local leaders opposed to the designation of Utah’s Bears Ears region as a national monument traveled from Southern Utah to attend the conference.”  Those participating included Commissioner Bruce Adams, Val Dalton, Wendy Black, Lewis & Donna Singer, Marie Holiday, Wallace and Anna Tom and Betty Jones.  We hope they will have an opportunity for sharing information in the near future.
       One concern we have often seen is stated in the article: “In recent history, federal agencies have conferred upon themselves — through the administrative rule-making process — expansive powers and authorities not present in original statutory law. Through the cumbersome, complex and ineffective public comment/rule-making process, federal agencies create for themselves rules, regulations and policies, imposing them on the public as binding and having the weight of law.

·        BLM 2.0 repealed by Trump.  Governor Herbert and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski were present at the signing March 27.  Herbert said, ‘"We want to optimize the management, the outcome, the results of our public lands and multiple use.  Utah and other rural states were critical of the 2.0 plan saying it added another layer that does not provide a better outcome and actually diminishes the role of the state and local governments. Undoing the regulation ensures that "western stakeholders will no longer be relegated to the sidelines, and once again be able to ensure that decisions are being made locally — not thousands of miles away at BLM headquarters," Murkowski said. (She was one of the sponsors of the bill—Write and thank her)
·       Wendell Berry quote via Jim Stiles: ”While most environmentalists object to the  impacts from the extraction of natural resources, they rarely connect the dots to the gasoline they keep pumping into their SUVs. They loathe the damage caused by the production of resources but have no trouble consuming them.”
 
Bad News Bears
·       See how Congressman Chris Steward was treated at the Town Hall meeting Friday, 3/31You’ll hear and see the nature of the beast we are battling.


·      Dependence upon foreign countries for minerals is troubling.  United States is now import-dependent for 50 different metals and minerals – and 100 percent import-dependent for 20.  Why then are we locking up land with natural resources?
******
Coming in April: Beyond Standing Rock. KUED Channel 7
Wed. April 12, noon   and Sunday April 30, 3 PM


Friday, March 24, 2017

Bear Essentials* March 24, 2017



n  Republican Lincoln Day Dinner Thursday March 30, in Monticello at the Hideout Community Center, 6 PM.  Representative Mike Noel will be the keynote speaker. He is such a strong ally in the land battle we are engaged in.  If you haven’t heard him speak, you need to come, listen and learn.  Call Cody Nielson for reservations 435-979-3027. They are also helping Stewards of San Juan with a raffle that night, so  plan to buy tickets which will help us with advertising costs.

n  Monday Night -- Bears Ears Comic Relief –  7 PM  April 3
Arts and Events Center -- USU Campus, Blanding
Stewards of San Juan has organized an evening of humor and fun for some well-deserved “Comic Relief” on April 3.  Lilly Tomblin Look-Alike will be manning the Bears Ears Information Booth; The Bears Ears Boys will join in with some humorous musical insights, while Oliver Harris and Buddy Redd will share western poetry. Random spoofs and skits will round out the evening. Leonie and Allen Hunt will close with a musical tribute to SJC. Donations will be used for No-Monument advertising.   Please invite your like-minded friends and family to come enjoy this event. There will also be Cake Auction and pot luck dessert bar held at the end. Come and enjoy!

n  Featured Op-ed from Bob Dalton, published last week in San Juan Record.



n  Moab & Escalante will be featured next on KSL’s Road to Understanding (today)

Please: Write or call Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke  He is getting LOTS of pressure from the Green Urbanites as is  President Trump.  Please stay engaged.
1849 C Street, N.W.    Washington DC 20240
Phone: 
(202) 208-3100
Email: 
Email Dept. of the Interior

Good News Bears
·       SJC ad campaign takes aim at rescinding Bears Ears NM Read article  Thank you for your donations in making this happen.

·       A great Town Hall Meeting was held in Fillmore Monday. Please listen if you haven’t already.  It was encouraging that so many other counties voiced the same concerns we have. Stewards of San Juan were represented and all had a chance to speak.  Thanks ladies for traveling over and representing SJC. 1 hour video of meeting  KSL is on the road for 2 weeks visiting towns throughout Utah. March 23 they were in Blanding.  Watch the news as it will show up soon.

·       Updated web site for Bears Ears Information. Please sign the petition reminding President Trump of SJC.  http://rescindbearsears.org/





Bad News Bears
Native Tribes set to do battle over Bears Ears.  Sandy Johnson, and Mary Jane Yazzie interviewed in this story.
ATV Trail Plans derailed by Environmental group Deseret News A proposal to put in a 6.4 mile all-terrain vehicle loop in the Indian Creek region at the Bears Ears Monument was derailed by the new designation after environmental groups won a stay delaying any of the work to begin this spring.
Those concerned about the devastating wildfires can visit www.ClarkCountyProud.com to see what the needs are and where to donate. 
The Kansas Livestock Association is accepting donations of feed, fencing supplies and cash for all ranchers who’ve lost fencing, forage resources, harvested feed and an undetermined number of cattle in the blazes across Kansas. To donate, visit  www.kla.org/donationform.aspx

Federal Withdrawal of resource rich lands also impacts Minnesota  “If enacted, the withdrawal proposal would cause the state to lose thousands of potential jobs from future mining projects, billions of dollars in future investment in Northeastern Minnesota, and billions of dollars of potential revenue to support the state’s K-12 education system. . . .
The proposed withdrawal is not based on science or any specific project. It will not make a project better, and it will not improve the environment. The unproven concerns raised by Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service are based only on hypothetical and unfounded fears of generalized impacts from mining.”

Coming in April: Beyond Standing Rock. KUED Channel 7
Wed. April 12, noon   and Sunday April 30, 3 PM