Saturday, December 9, 2017

~~ Bear Essentials ~ Dec. 9, 2017 ~~



It was a great day of celebration for “Local” Native Americas and San Juan County


v Thank You’s Are In Order:  Contact Senator Hatch:
v Express your appreciation and concerns:   Write or Call the President:
            Write to Secretary Zinke: Dept. of the Interior  1849 C Street, N.W.  Wash. DC 20240 
v Other Issues of Local Interest


The Bears Ears Commission will be renamed the Shash Jáa Commission and expanded to include San Juan County Commissioner Rebecca Benally, a Native American elected by the majority-Native American voting district in the county.”

n  The Bears Ears Story Great Video
Several high-profile cases of misconduct have come to light in recent years, ranging from sexual harassment within the ranks of the National Park Service to the brazen abuse of authority by BLM Special Agent Dan Love. A pattern has emerged demonstrating a reluctance by senior department officials to discipline and hold federal employees accountable for their wrongdoing. I’m encouraged to see the department beginning to open its eyes to reports of misconduct and impose real consequences on those found responsible.”
n  Locals in San Juan Praise Trump’s Decision Lots of great photos too!
n  Five Myths about Bears Ears  Gov. Gary Herbert
“Indian tribes should have the same opportunities to develop their natural resources as any other sovereign nation,” said Hoeven. “For years, Washington’s overregulation has hurt tribal energy development and stymied economic growth in Indian Country. This commonsense bill will cut red tape and provide tribes with greater flexibility to develop energy resources to best meet the needs of their local communities.”
But whether Obama or Trump has the final say over these monuments, their opinions are not as important as those of the people directly affected, who ought to be brokering final settlements. They will feel empowered only when Utah becomes exempt from the Antiquities Act.”

  Bad News Bears                   
“Armies of dedicated people—from massive agricultural conglomerates and equipment manufacturers to individual farmers and ranchers on multiple continents—are working diligently to make sure every man, woman and child has enough to eat and drink. . . .True environmentalists must climb down from their ivory towers, put on their grownup boots and walk the land with today’s devoted conservationists—farmers, ranchers, miners, energy professionals, and water experts. Committed, resolute people like Bill Minor. Mother Earth will be saved by intelligent partnerships, not mindless lawsuits and feel-good ideology.”
n  Hysteria:  The Land has been Erased! Remember Chicken Little: “The Sky is Falling!”
      Just a few of San Juan Stewards who were in SLC on this Auspicious Day                                                                 
~~~~~~
 http://beyondthebears.blogspot.com/          

                                     Documenting Bears Ears “No Monument” efforts since July 2016

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

San Juan County locals praise Trump’s Bears Ears decision

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“Ralph Waldo Emerson said, ‘God will not have his work made manifest by cowards.’ We need fighters. There’s a time and a place for peace and good feelings. And there’s a time to fight, and this is a time to fight. And I’m so grateful we have a fighter in the White House.”
by Marjorie Haun
President Trump is expected to meet Utah’s national, state and local elected officials on Monday at the State Capitol, to announce his decision to reduce the size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. Unconfirmed reports have been flying that the monuments will be reduced by 60 percent to 85 percent. But no one knows for sure what Monday will bring, other than masses of angry protesters–who not only do not live in Kane, Garfield or San Juan Counties, but many of whom are from out of state.

Trump’s decision comes after about eight months of careful consideration by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who was tasked with reviewing all national monuments created by presidents using the Antiquities Act since 1996. Bears Ears (1.4 million acres), created by Obama on December 28, 2016, and the Grand Staircase-Escalante (1.9 million acres), created by Clinton in a nod to green donors and Indonesian friends with clean coal interests in 1996, have been by far the most controversial and bitterly disputed. Strong opposition from the locals living in communities impacted by the massive monuments have had a significant impact on Zinke’s assessment. And, the same locals believe the President’s Monday announcement will bring them much-needed relief from the economic hardships which have accompanied these restrictive federal designations.
On Saturday, December 2, county commissioners from as far as Weber County and Garfield County, as well as nearby Grand County, joined San Juan County’s elected officials to celebrate Trump’s Monday announcement. A crowd of about 200 locals rallied at the County Courthouse in Monticello, and the feeling was jubilant, to put it mildly.
San Juan County Commissioner Bruce Adams:
“In making the recommendations he made, he made those based on specific objects…The Administration was very, very intent on listening to local voices when talking about the Monument. I couldn’t more happy than to hear those words from the Administration, that they were wanting to listen to the local voices…There were so many NGO’s and so many organizations that have big money from all over the United States that wanted to influence the designation of that monument, that it just blew it completely out of proportion. I think we’re going to rein it back in on Monday with the announcement from the President. And we’re certainly grateful for what Zinke and his staff have done. And finally…we’re here to celebrate and thank President Trump.”
SJC Commissioners Rebecca Benally and Bruce Adams
San Juan County Commissioner Rebecca Benally:
“We are thankful President Trump also…what can you say? He’s not our average, predictable president, right? We appreciate the fact that he’s not a typical politician. As we stated earlier, we are just 15,000 strong, but he paid attention. He knows where Bears Ears is. He knows where San Juan County, Utah is, not just Salt Lake City. He knows we’re six hours away. We appreciate his willingness even though we know he will get backlash from the special interest groups, because we know he is willing to stand up for the people and economy of San Juan County. First and foremost, thank you to the grassroots people of San Juan County. This would never have happened without your willingness to share your voices. Voicing on social media, 11 o’clock at night, 2 o’clock in the morning, it helped. It worked! The many voices became one voice. This whole tactic of divide and conquer did not work. In spite of that divisive tactic we came together. Whether we were Native American or non-Native American, we started this fight together.  Your work is the reason we are here today, San Juan County residents. Thank you so much. “
Rebecca Benally
San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman:
“I’ll just say this. Right is right and wrong is wrong, and as soon as people start making decisions based on the popular sentiment, you know we’re in big trouble. You know, there’s a statement, ‘Do what is right, let the consequences follow.’ If we would do that, life would be so much simpler. The truth is so much simpler than the false narratives being pushed onto us…We are a family. Why is this a constant effort to divide us? To emphasize the differences? When we are all children of God and we all care about each other. Nowhere have we seen this more than in San Juan County where these outside special interest groups will come in with an agenda and try to divide this county. I’m so grateful for people like Commissioner Benally, who will stand up and speak the truth…and all of you who have stood up and said. ‘We are not separate. We are one people. We are one county and We all care about each other.'”
“Ralph Waldo Emerson said, ‘God will not have his work made manifest by cowards.’ We need fighters. There’s a time and a place for peace and good feelings. And there’s a time to fight, and this is a time to fight. And I’m so grateful we have a fighter in the White House…So much blood has been spilled to preserve this nation. Are going to now sit back and let attorneys and judges to sell our freedom away and fill their pockets with taxpayer’s money? One thing that we have going for us is, I’ve noticed, the biggest bullies are the biggest cowards. If you stand up, things will change. If we stand up, things will change…the simple message that will heal this country is let’s not divide, let’s come together. Let’s fulfill our duty, our duty to each other, our duty to help those less fortunate than ourselves, our duty to stand up for our country, our duty to stand up when things are being done to our neighbors that are not right.”
Phil Lyman
Grandma Betty Jones, Anna Tom
Jamie Bayles, founder Stewards of San Juan County

Presidential Proclamation: MODIFYING THE BEARS EARS NATIONAL MONUMENT

“The areas described above are the smallest compatible with the protection of the important objects identified in Proclamation 9558. The modification of the Bears Ears National Monument will maintain and protect those objects and preserve the area’s cultural, scientific, and historic legacy.”
Presidential Proclamation Modifying the Bears Ears National Monument
A PROCLAMATION
In Proclamation 9558 of December 28, 2016, and exercising his authority under section 320301 of title 54, United States Code (the “Antiquities Act”), President Barack Obama established the Bears Ears National Monument in the State of Utah, reserving approximately 1.35 million acres of Federal lands for the care and management of objects of historic and scientific interest identified therein. The monument is managed jointly by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Department of Agriculture’s United States Forest Service (USFS). This proclamation makes certain modifications to the monument.
Proclamation 9558 identifies a long list of objects of historic or scientific interest. It describes cultural resources such as ancient cliff dwellings (including the Moon House and Doll House Ruins), Moki Steps, Native American ceremonial sites, tools and projectile points, remains of single-family dwellings, granaries, kivas, towers, large villages, rock shelters, caves, and a prehistoric road system, as well as petroglyphs, pictographs, and recent rock art left by the Ute, Navajo, and Paiute peoples. It also identifies other types of historic objects, such as remnants of Native American sheep-herding and farming operations and early engineering by pioneers and settlers, including smoothed sections of rock, dugways, historic cabins, corrals, trails, and inscriptions carved into rock, and the Hole-in-the-Rock and Outlaw Trails. It also describes landscape features such as the Bears Ears, Comb Ridge, Cedar Mesa, the Valley of the Gods, the Abajo Mountains, and the San Juan River, and paleontological resources such as the fossil remains of fishes, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals, as well as dinosaur trackways and traces of other terrestrial animals. Finally, it identifies several species, including animals like the porcupine, badger, and coyote; birds like the red-tailed hawk, Mexican spotted owl, American kestrel, and turkey vulture; and plants such as the Fremont cottonwood, Abajo daisy, western sandbar willow, and boxelder.
The Antiquities Act requires that any reservation of land as part of a monument be confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects of historic or scientific interest to be protected. Determining the appropriate protective area involves examination of a number of factors, including the uniqueness and nature of the objects, the nature of the needed protection, and the protection provided by other laws.
Some of the objects Proclamation 9558 identifies are not unique to the monument, and some of the particular examples of these objects within the monument are not of significant scientific or historic interest. Moreover, many of the objects Proclamation 9558 identifies were not under threat of damage or destruction before designation such that they required a reservation of land to protect them. In fact, objects described in Proclamation 9558 were then — and still are — subject to Federal protections under existing laws and agency management designations. For example, more than 500,000 acres were already being managed to maintain, enhance, or protect their roadless character before they were designated as part of a national monument. Specifically, the BLM manages approximately 380,759 acres of lands within the existing monument as Wilderness Study Areas, which the BLM is required by law to manage so as not to impair their suitability for future congressional designation as Wilderness. On lands managed by the USFS, 46,348 acres are part of the congressionally designated Dark Canyon Wilderness Area, which, under the 1964 Wilderness Act, 16 U.S.C. 1131-1136, and the Utah Wilderness Act of 1984, Public Law 98-428, the USFS must manage so as to maintain or enhance its wilderness character. Approximately 89,396 acres of the USFS lands are also included in 8 inventoried roadless areas, which are managed under the USFS’s 2001 Roadless Rule so as to protect their wilderness character.
A host of laws enacted after the Antiquities Act provide specific protection for archaeological, historic, cultural, paleontological, and plant and animal resources and give authority to the BLM and USFS to condition permitted activities on Federal lands, whether within or outside a monument. These laws include the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, 16 U.S.C. 470aa-470mm, National Historic Preservation Act, 54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq., Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, 16 U.S.C. 668-668d, Endangered Species Act of 1973, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq., Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988, 16 U.S.C. 4301 et seq., Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq., Migratory Bird Treaty Act, 16 U.S.C. 703-712, National Forest Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq., Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1976, 25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq., and Paleontological Resources Preservation Act, 16 U.S.C. 470aaa-470aaa-11. Of particular note, the Archaeological Resources Protection Act specifically protects archaeological resources from looting or other desecration and imposes criminal penalties for unauthorized excavation, removal, damage, alteration, or defacement of archaeological resources. Federal land management agencies can grant a permit authorizing excavation or removal, but only when undertaken for the purpose of furthering archaeological knowledge. The Paleontological Resources Preservation Act contains very similar provisions protecting paleontological resources. And the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Endangered Species Act protect migratory birds and listed endangered and threatened species and their habitats. Moreover, the BLM and the USFS were already addressing many of the threats to objects identified in Proclamation 9558 in their governing land-use plans before designation of the monument.
Given the nature of the objects identified on the lands reserved by Proclamation 9558, the lack of a threat of damage or destruction to many of those objects, and the protection for those objects already provided by existing law and governing land-use plans, I find that the area of Federal land reserved in the Bears Ears National Monument established by Proclamation 9558 is not confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of those objects. The important objects of scientific or historic interest can instead be protected by a smaller and more appropriate reservation of 2 areas: Shash Jáa and Indian Creek. Revising the boundaries of the monument to cover these 2 areas will ensure that, in accordance with the Antiquities Act, it is no larger than necessary for the proper care and management of the objects to be protected within the monument.
The Shash Jáa area contains the heart of the national monument: the iconic twin buttes known as the Bears Ears that tower 2,000 feet above the surrounding landscape and are considered sacred to the Native American tribes that call this area their ancestral home. Many of the significant objects described by Proclamation 9558 can be found throughout the Shash Jáa area. Ancestral Puebloan occupation of the area began during the Basketmaker II period at least 2,500 years ago, and it left behind objects such as pit houses, storage pits, lithic scatters, campsites, rock shelters, pictographs, and baskets, as well as manos and metates for grinding corn. Occupation dating to the Basketmaker III period, from approximately 500 to 750 C.E., left additional evidence of maize- and bean-based agriculture, along with pottery, bows and arrows, pit houses, kivas, storage rooms, and dispersed villages.
New waves of human settlement occurred around 900 C.E., when the Pueblo I period gave rise to large villages near Comb Wash, and 1050 C.E., when inhabitants from the Pueblo II period built expansive and complex multi-family dwellings. Around 1150 C.E., the dawn of the Pueblo III period, the area’s inhabitants increasingly sought shelter in cliff dwellings and left behind evidence of an era of unrest. Several centuries later, the Ute, Paiute, and Navajo came to occupy the area.
East of the Bears Ears is Arch Canyon, within which paleontologists have found numerous fossils from the Permian and Upper Permian eras. Cliff dwellings are hidden throughout the canyon, and the mouth of the canyon holds the fabled Arch Canyon ruin, which spans the Pueblo II and III periods and contains pictographs and petroglyphs ranging from the Archaic to the historic periods.
Just south of Arch Canyon are the north and south forks of Mule Canyon. Five-hundred feet deep, 5 miles long, and decorated with alternating layers of red and white sandstone, these 2 striking canyons contain shelter-cliff dwellings and other archaeological sites, including the scenic and accessible House on Fire Ruin, which includes differing masonry styles that indicate several episodes of construction and use.
Perched high on the open tablelands above the south fork of Mule Canyon are the Mule Canyon ruins, where visitors can see exposed masonry walls of ancient living quarters and a partially restored kiva. The deep canyons and towering mesas of the Shash Jáa area are full of similar sites, including rock art, remains of single-family dwellings, granaries, kivas, towers (including the Cave Towers), and large villages primarily from the Pueblo II and III periods, along with sites from the Basketmaker and Archaic periods.
The Shash Jáa area also includes Comb Ridge, a north-south trending monocline that originates near the boundary of the Manti-La Sal National Forest, ends near the San Juan River, and contains remnants from the region’s thousands of years of human habitation, including cliff dwellings, granaries, kivas, ceremonial sites, and the Butler Wash ruin, a world-famous Ancestral Puebloan ruin with multiple rooms and kivas. Comb Ridge also includes world-class examples of ancient rock art, such as the Butler Wash Kachina Panel, a wall-sized mural of San Juan Anthropomorph figures that dates to the Basketmaker period and is considered to be one of the Southwest’s most important petroglyph panels for understanding the daily life and rituals of the Basketmaker people. Significant fossil sites have also been discovered in Butler Wash.
Just north of upper Butler Wash, the aspen-filled Whiskers Draw contains a series of alcoves that have sheltered evidence of human habitation for thousands of years, including Cave 7, the site where Richard Wetherill, as part of the Hyde Expedition in 1893, first identified what we know today as the Basketmaker people. The nearby Milk Ranch Point is home to a rich concentration of kivas, granaries, dwellings, and other evidence that Pueblo I farmers used this area to cultivate corn, beans, and squash.
The Shash Jáa area also contains the Comb Ridge Fossil site, which includes a trackway created by a giant arthropod (Diplichnites cuithensis), the first recorded instance of such a trackway in Utah. Also, the diverse landscape of the Shash Jáa area provides habitat for the vast majority of plant and animal species described by Proclamation 9558.
Finally, the Shash Jáa area as described on the accompanying map includes 2 non-contiguous parcels of land that encompass the Moon House Ruin, an example of iconic Pueblo‑decorated architecture, which was likely the last occupied site on Cedar Mesa, as well as Doll House Ruin, a fully intact and well-preserved single room granary that is associated with an extensive agricultural area on the mesa top. These significant ruins are important examples of cultural resource objects that should remain within the monument’s boundaries.
The Indian Creek area likewise contains objects of significance described in Proclamation 9558. At its center is the broad Indian Creek Canyon, which is characterized by sheer red cliffs and spires of exposed and eroded layers of Navajo, Kayenta, Wingate, and Cedar Mesa sandstone, including the iconic North and South Six-Shooter Peaks.
Also located within the Indian Creek area is the Canyonlands Research Center. Spanning lands managed by the National Park Service, BLM, USFS, and private landowners, this unique partnership works to increase our understanding of the complex natural systems on the landscape, providing their custodians with information they need to adapt to the challenges of a changing Colorado Plateau.
Newspaper Rock, a popular attraction in the Indian Creek area, is a roadside rock art panel that has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976. This site displays a significant concentration of rock art from multiple periods, etched into Wingate sandstone. The older art is attributed to the Ancestral Puebloan people who inhabited this region for 2,000 years, while the more recent rock art is attributed to the Ute people who still live in the Four Corners area.
In addition to Newspaper Rock, the Indian Creek area contains numerous other significant rock art sites, including the distinctive and well-preserved petroglyphs in Shay Canyon. The area also provides opportunities for cultural and scientific research and paleontological study. Dinosaur tracks in the bottom of the Shay Canyon stream bed are a unique visual reminder of the area’s distant past. Additional paleontological resources can be found throughout the Indian Creek area, including vertebrate and invertebrate fossils, primarily in the Chinle Formation. The Indian Creek area also includes 2 prominent mesas, Bridger Jack Mesa and Lavender Mesa, which are home to relict plant communities, predominantly composed of pinyon-juniper woodland, with small, interspersed sagebrush parks, that exist only on these isolated islands in the desert sea and are, generally, unaltered by humans. These mesas provide the opportunity for comparative studies of pinyon‑juniper woodland and sagebrush communities in other parts of the Colorado Plateau. Additionally, the Indian Creek area includes the exposed Chinle Formation, known for abundant fossilized flora and fauna, including pelecypods, gastropods, arthropods, fishes, amphibians, and reptiles (including dinosaurs). Finally, the area is well known for vertebrate trackways, including tetrapod footprints.
Some of the existing monument’s objects, or certain examples of those objects, are not within the monument’s revised boundaries because they are adequately protected by existing law, designation, agency policy, or governing land-use plans. For example, although the modified boundaries do not include the San Juan River or the Valley of the Gods, both of those areas are protected by existing administratively designated Areas of Critical Environmental Concern. Plant and animal species such as the bighorn sheep, the Kachina daisy, the Utah night lizard, and the Eucosma navojoensis moth are protected by the Endangered Species Act and existing land-use plans and policies protecting special‑status species. Additionally, some of the range of these species falls within existing Wilderness Areas and Wilderness Study Areas. Finally, although Hideout Canyon is likewise not included within the modified boundaries, it is generally not threatened and is partially within a Wilderness Study Area.
The areas described above are the smallest compatible with the protection of the important objects identified in Proclamation 9558. The modification of the Bears Ears National Monument will maintain and protect those objects and preserve the area’s cultural, scientific, and historic legacy.
WHEREAS, Proclamation 9558 of December 28, 2016, designated the Bears Ears National Monument in the State of Utah and reserved approximately 1.35 million acres of Federal lands for the care and management of the Bears Ears buttes and other objects of historic and scientific interest identified therein; and
WHEREAS, many of the objects identified by Proclamation 9558 are otherwise protected by Federal law; and
WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to modify the boundaries of the monument to exclude from its designation and reservation approximately 1,150,860 acres of land that I find are unnecessary for the care and management of the objects to be protected within the monument; and
WHEREAS, the boundaries of the monument reservation should therefore be reduced to the smallest area compatible with the protection of the objects of scientific or historic interest as described above in this proclamation;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by section 320301 of title 54, United States Code, hereby proclaim that the boundaries of the Bears Ears National Monument are hereby modified and reduced to those lands and interests in land owned or controlled by the Federal Government within the boundaries described on the accompanying map, which is attached to and forms a part of this proclamation. I hereby further proclaim that the modified monument areas identified on the accompanying map shall be known as the Indian Creek and Shash Jáa units of the monument, the latter of which shall include the Moon House and Doll House Ruins. These reserved Federal lands and interests in lands cumulatively encompass approximately 201,876 acres. The boundaries described on the accompanying map are confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected. Any lands reserved by Proclamation 9558 not within the boundaries identified on the accompanying map are hereby excluded from the monument.
At 9:00 a.m., eastern standard time, on the date that is 60 days after the date of this proclamation, subject to valid existing rights, the provisions of existing withdrawals, and the requirements of applicable law, the public and National Forest System lands excluded from the monument reservation shall be open to:
(1) entry, location, selection, sale, or other disposition under the public land laws and laws applicable to the U.S. Forest Service;
(2) disposition under all laws relating to mineral and geothermal leasing; and
(3) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws.
Appropriation of lands under the mining laws before the date and time of restoration is unauthorized. Any such attempted appropriation, including attempted adverse possession under 30 U.S.C. 38, shall vest no rights against the United States. Acts required to establish a location and to initiate a right of possession are governed by State law where not in conflict with Federal law.
Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to remove any lands from the Manti-La Sal National Forest or to otherwise revoke, modify, or affect any withdrawal, reservation, or appropriation, other than the one created by Proclamation 9558.
Nothing in this proclamation shall change the management of the areas designated and reserved by Proclamation 9558 that remain part of the monument in accordance with the terms of this proclamation, except as provided by the following 4 paragraphs:
In recognition of the importance of tribal participation to the care and management of the objects identified above, and to ensure that management decisions affecting the monument reflect tribal expertise and traditional and historical knowledge, Proclamation 9558 established a Commission to provide guidance and recommendations on the development and implementation of management plans and on management of the monument, and to partner with Federal agencies by making continuing contributions to inform decisions regarding the management of the monument. In order to ensure that the full range of tribal expertise and traditional historical knowledge is included in such guidance and recommendations, paragraph 29 of Proclamation 9558 is hereby revised to provide that the Bears Ears Commission shall be known as the Shash Jáa Commission, shall apply only to the Shash Jáa unit as described herein, and shall also include the elected officer of the San Juan County Commission representing District 3 acting in that officer’s official capacity.
Proclamation 9558 is hereby revised to clarify that, pending preparation of the transportation plan required by paragraph 34 thereof, the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture may allow motorized and non-mechanized vehicle use on roads and trails designated for such use immediately before the issuance of Proclamation 9558 and maintain roads and trails for such use.
Paragraph 35 of Proclamation 9558 governing livestock grazing in the monument is hereby revised to read as follows: “Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to affect authorizations for livestock grazing, or administration thereof, on Federal lands within the monument. Livestock grazing within the monument shall continue to be governed by laws and regulations other than this proclamation.”
Proclamation 9558 is amended to clarify that, consistent with the care and management of the objects identified above, the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture may authorize ecological restoration and active vegetation management activities in the monument.
If any provision of this proclamation, including its application to a particular parcel of land, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this proclamation and its application to other parcels of land shall not be affected thereby.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand seventeen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-second.
DONALD J. TRUMP

Monday, December 4, 2017

President Trump Addresses Utah & Rural Citizens

Remarks by President Trump on Antiquities Act Designations
Utah State Capitol   Salt Lake City, Utah   12:20 P.M. MST
President Trump arrives in Salt Lake! 
You are a true fighter, Orrin. And I have to say, I’ve gotten to know him very well. I’ve gotten to know a lot of people very well. You meet fighters and you meet people that you thought were fighters but they’re not so good at fighting. He’s a fighter. We hope you will continue to serve your state and your country in the Senate for a very long time to come.
I want to especially thank you for the tremendous work in ushering massive tax cuts and reform through the Senate. Just happened, and we have a final step to go. And I predict we’re going to be very successful. We’re talking about massive, massive tax cuts. It’s tax cuts and reform, but I always mention tax cuts first because that’s what people like to hear.
We’re now one huge step closer to delivering to the American people the historic tax relief as a giant present for Christmas. Remember I said we’re bringing Christmas back? Christmas is back, bigger and better than ever before. We’re bringing Christmas back. And we say it now with pride. Let me just say, to those here today and all across the country: Merry Christmas to everybody. And also, happy holidays and a great New Year. We’re going to have a great, great year.
Joining us at this ceremony are many other tremendous leaders from Utah, including your great senator, Mike Lee. Where’s Mike? Mike, come! Come here, Mike. Get up here, Mike. He worked along with Orrin and the rest of them. We got it done. Mike, thank you very much. You want to say something?
SENATOR LEE: It’s not every day the President of the United States asks you to take the microphone from him. But I want to say, Mr. President, thank you for your leadership. Thank you for being here. Thank you for standing with the people of Utah. We appreciate it deeply.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Mike.
I also want to recognize your fantastic representatives who are with us — Rob Bishop, John Curtis, Chris Stewart, and Mia Love. Thank you all. You’re here. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
And I have to say, really — talk about a very special guy that I made Secretary of the Interior. Does he know the interior. He’s knows it, he loves it. He loves seeing it and riding on it. Ryan Zinke, who truly believes in protecting America — he is protecting America. And nobody loves it more. Ryan. Thank you. Just as he protected America as an officer of the legendary Seal Team Six. He’s a tough cookie and you’ve done a great job. Thank you, Ryan.
Governor Gary Herbert. Where is Gary? Get over there, Gary. So they can — and you’re your wife, the First Lady, is fantastic. Attorney General Sean Reyes. Sean, thank you. Thank you. An original supporter of mine. You know, you always remember those original supporters. Greg Hughes. Greg, thank you. He was an original right at the beginning. Thank you, Greg. He had a feeling.
Finally, I want to recognize the members of the local Utah Navajo. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Really appreciate it. We’re profoundly honored by your presence here today, and I’m thrilled to be here with so many wonderful friends, so many people that saw something a little special and they said, we’re with him, and I’m really working hard to put it back. And that’s what we’re doing today. This magnificent capitol, in your incredible state. And it is special people in a special state. Thank you very much for being here.
I’ve just come from touring Welfare Square with Senator Hatch and some amazing people from the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints. Special. I spent a lot of time with them. In fact, I went around the store, I wanted a nice can of tuna fish –and they had plenty. They really help people. Incredible.
After our visit, I can truly say firsthand that Utah’s awesome natural beauty is exceeded only by the warmth and grace and hospitality of its citizens. This state has many natural treasures, but its greatest treasure by far is its people. And we will ensure the right of the people to live according to the faith in their hearts, which is why we will always protect your religious liberty. And we’ve been doing that.
I know all of you feel blessed to be living among some of the most glorious natural wonders anywhere in the world. You cherish Utah’s gleaming rivers and sweeping valleys. You take inspiration from its majestic peaks. And when you look upon its many winding canyons and glowing vistas, you marvel at the beauty of God’s great creation.
And that is why I’m here today: Because some people think that the natural resources of Utah should be controlled by a small handful of very distant bureaucrats located in Washington. And guess what? They’re wrong.
The families and communities of Utah know and love this land the best, and you know the best how to take care of your land. You know how to protect it, and you know best how to conserve this land for many, many generations to come. Your timeless bond with the outdoors should not be replaced with the whims of regulators thousands and thousands of miles away. They don’t know your land, and truly, they don’t care for your land like you do. But from now on, that won’t matter. I’ve come to Utah to take a very historic action to reverse federal overreach and restore the rights of this land to your citizens. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
But before I began — because I understood how big it is — I’m a real estate developer. When they start talking about millions of acres, I say, say it again? That’s a lot. So, before I began, I met with Senator Orrin Hatch, who loves Utah and loves the people of Utah. I called Senator Mike Lee, who loves Utah and loves the people of Utah. I called your governor. I called my original — where is he? There he is. I called all of the friends that I have in Utah. I said, what do you think? I said, will this be good for our country, and will it be good for your state? They said this would be incredible for our country, will be incredible for Utah. Finally, you would be giving people back their access to the land they know, to the land they understand, and most importantly, to the land that they love.
Ryan Benally Graphic
I also said, will it be at all controversial? They all told me no. How did that happen? I don’t think it is controversial, actually. I think it’s so sensible. Therefore, today, on the recommendation of Secretary Zinke, and with the wise counsel of Senator Hatch, Senator Lee, and the many others, I will sign two presidential proclamations. These actions will modify the national monuments designations of both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante.
As many of you know, past administrations have severely abused the purpose, spirit, and intent of a century-old law known as the Antiquities Act. This law requires that only the smallest necessary area be set aside for special protection as national monuments. Unfortunately, previous administrations have ignored the standard and used the law to lock up hundreds of millions of acres of land and water under strict government control.
These abuses of the Antiquities Act give enormous power to faraway bureaucrats at the expense of the people who actually live here, work here, and make this place their home. This is where they raise their children. This is the place they love.
For example, the previous administration designated more than a half a billion acres of land and water, including Bears Ears. It did so over the loud objections of the people of this state and their elected representatives. Governor — right?  Results have been very sad and very predictable. Here, and in other affected states, we have seen harmful and unnecessary restrictions on hunting, ranching, and responsible economic development. We have seen grazing restrictions prevent ranching families from passing their businesses and beloved heritage on to the children — the children that they love. We’ve seen many rural families stopped from enjoying their outdoor activities. And the fact they’ve done it all their lives made no difference to the bureaucrats in Washington.
We have seen needed improvements, like infrastructure upgrades and road maintenance, impeded and foreclosed. We have seen how this tragic federal overreach prevents many Native Americans from having their rightful voice over the sacred land where they practice their most important ancestral and religious traditions. These abuses of the Antiquities Act have not just threatened your local economies; they’ve threatened your very way of life. They’ve threatened your hearts. Our precious national treasures must be protected. And they, from now on, will be protected. Under my administration, we will advance that protection through a truly representative process, one that listens to the local communities that knows the land the best and that cherishes the land the most.
With the action I’m taking today, we will not only give back your voice over the use of this land, we will also restore your access and your enjoyment. Public lands will once again be for public use — because we know that people who are free to use their land and enjoy their land are the people most determined to conserve their land.  One values the splendor of Utah more than — I’ll tell you what, there’s nobody out there. I just came in, and I’m looking around with Orrin and with Mike and with the governor and with everybody, and I’m just saying, what a beautiful picture it is. But no one values the splendor of Utah more than you do, and no one knows better how to use it.
With your help in treating our natural bounty with respect, gratitude, and love, we will put our nation’s treasures to great and wonderful use. Families will hike and hunt on land they have known for generations, and they will preserve it for generations to come. Cattle will graze along the open range. Sweeping landscapes will inspire young Americans to dream beyond the horizon. And the world will stand in awe of the artistry God has worked right here in your great state.
Together, we will usher in a bright new future of wonder and wealth, liberty and law, and patriotism and pride all across this great land. Thank you to the wonderful people of Utah. May God bless you and may God bless America. Thank you very much. And in your honor, I will now, with your representatives, sign this very, very important proclamation. Thank you very much, everyone. Thank you.

A RED Letter Day for Utah and San Juan

Some of the Stewards of San Juan:


Yes, the Work of the past 18 Months was worth it! 


               Better Believe San Juan County and Garfied/Kane Counties Were Happy




Sunday, December 3, 2017

San Juan County Dec. 2 Rally in Support

Those who came and supported San Juan County 


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Wendy and Ed Johnstun

The Bayles Family has been in it, to win it from the beginning.   Just missing Devin in photo!
Dashelle Holliday, a concerned mom-citizen