PinnedMember-onlyBears Ears: Perhaps there’s a third wayThe strident brand of environmentalism that Edward Abbey embraced targeted both the producer (oil and gas drilling, mining and logging) and consumer (industrial tourism). It was a long time coming. Given the rhetorical fog and political impasse over Bears Ears National Monument, I’m afraid it will be a long time gone. — SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — More than a few years ago, in the 1970s, Utah writer Edward Abbey spoke to a journalism class at the University of Montana. His rant for pay focused on the value of destroying Glen Canyon Dam. His performance was irresponsible. There was nothing about flood…Environment4 min readEnvironment4 min read
Aug 22, 2022Member-onlyContested spaceBiden joins the ping-pong politics of Bears Ears National Monument At first glance, there appears to be nothing much of substance in President Biden’s October 2021 resurrection of Bears Ears National Monument beyond his Democratic predecessor’s 2016 creation. But initial impressions sometimes deserve a closer look: Biden’s monument, located in…Native Americans26 min readNative Americans26 min read
Jan 24, 2021Member-onlyPing-pong protection: Is anything on the horizon that will truly safeguard Bears Ears?Haven’t we been down this road before? “Frankly, Utah had a chance with the Public Lands Initiative to do something that was more collaborative (to prevent the Bears Ears designation) and they failed,” according to (University of Utah law professor John) Ruple, who was quoted in The Salt Lake Tribune. …14 min read14 min read
Dec 28, 2020Member-onlyBeyond the familiar apocalytic boilerplate: About that drilling near Labyrinth CanyonUPDATE As expected, the Bureau of Land Management approved the Twin Bridges Bowknot helium project yesterday. Specifically, Roger Bankert, field-office boss in Vernal, authorized: Access-road improvements Well pad construction Construction of an underground well bore to reach Twin Bridges’ SITLA lease Pipeline construction The day before, federal district court Judge…7 min read7 min read
Nov 30, 2020Member-onlyDesignate it, publicize it and they will come … and destroy it: Of untouchable rhetoric and the fight against overcrowded tourism at home and abroad (Well, not so much at home)PART I: A latter-day David and Goliath saga The lake is quiet, commercially primitive, other-worldly. It constantly changes color from shades of blue or gray depending upon the skies above and varying angles of seasonal light. It’s the only habitat in the world for Cui-ui fish, a species that’s been…31 min read31 min read
Aug 6, 2020Member-onlyThe Grand Staircase Story: morality of mining, no-compromise environmentalists, unreliable sources(First published Sept. 2018) Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 5 Convenience…21 min read21 min read
Mar 28, 2020Member-onlySAME AS IT EVER WASCULTURE APPROPRIATION AND DISPLACEMENT IN THE BEST OF THE WEST — The Chuck-A-Rama anthropologist in me believes denigration of working-class culture masked by NIMBYistic environmentalism, appropriation of the Navajo Way by even marginally affluent Americans, and Navajo political opportunists rendered untouchable by invoking “sovereignty” and playing the race card lie at the core of the rift in San Juan County, Utah…Western Culture18 min readWestern Culture18 min read
Jan 3, 2020Member-only2019 in review: A sea change in San Juan County governanceA federal judge’s ruling and the “historical” election that followed has turned politics there topsy-turvy Last February, I asked “Who’s the Boss in Utah’s Bears Ears Country?” The following six-part essay is an attempt to partially answer that question after a year of watching events unfold there. Part 1: Rule…Environment29 min readEnvironment29 min read
Nov 20, 2019THE RHETORIC OF RETRIBUTION, THE POLITICS OF PAYBACKPolitical clout of newly empowered Navajo Democrats helps defeat a proposal to study change of San Juan County (Utah) government — “Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.” — Thomas Jefferson to Richard Price, 1789 Many San Juan County, Utah, residents who voted in a special election on Nov. 5 were not informed — at least not well enough to test Thomas Jefferson’s optimism.Politics25 min readPolitics25 min read
Nov 12, 2019Member-onlySteven Boos respondsOctober 17 Good morning Mr. Boos, This photo taken at one your presentations is being circulated widely among residents in southeast Utah and on the Navajo Nation in advance of San Juan County’s special election. Can you confirm the date, place, and organization that sponsored the event? Care to comment…Voting Rights8 min readVoting Rights8 min read
