The Canyon Country Zephyr page 3

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how in the world can they NOT let their interests get in the way? So as a result, some of these groups, like the Grand Canyon Trust…I think they pull their punches. They won’t take on some issues. White Mesa. Nuclear waste. Glen Canyon. I’d like to get in on that one more time, especially the nuclear stuff. Anyway I think it is legitimate to question the big money on these boards.

“I’ve thought a lot about this. After they got all their money in the frst place, whether it’s by oil or gas or uranium or plastics, they’ve created these monsters. Then they come back and want to donate. Are they trying to make amends? How are they making amends? If these big outfts and people want to make amends, then REALLY make amends-

Ken stands up. “Let’s get out of this damn offce and breathe some real air.” For once we have a breeze not a gale as we walk into the trees and gaze across the horse pasture to the old Pack Creek lodge, now Ken and Jane’s home. It looks much the same to me as it did 25 years ago, but change is underway. The ranch is administered by a homeowners association and all the owners, including the Sleights, share the commons. Ken ponders the future... “What will it be like, Ken?” I ask.

where nobody can go in. Not even scientists! They’re not going to allow that. I always like Dave Foreman’s idea to even take wilderness off the maps. Big blank spots. JUST LEAVE IT LONE! That sounds good to me.”

If there’s one subject that riles Ken more than anything else these days, it’s the case of Tim DeChristopher. In December 2008, DeChristopher attended a federal oil and gas lease auction in Salt Lake City. He found himself bidding on the leases even though he had no money to pay for them. In effect, he successfully killed the sale. A month later, the Obama administration voided any future sales of those lands near Moab, but DeChristopher was charged

“Pack Creek Ranch and Moab will be plastic,” Ken says sadly. “Nothing but plastic, and Pack Creek with it. Civilization is already headed that way. It IS that way. Plastic is a good word. Plastic individuals. Not really individuals anymore. People will go where they’ve been trained and taught. Control.

“Wilderness is supposed to be having the space to be free. When we fought for wilderness, we thought it meant big empty places. I really don’t want to be around for what’s coming and I won’t of course. I’m 80 years old. I’ve turned the corner I guess.”

Ken stares down the valley to the towering red wall on the far side of Spanish valley and beyond to the tablelands and mesas and cliffs that have been a part of his home for a lifetime.

“Sometimes the fever goes out....But not all the time. It comes back. I may not change the course of anything but I feel better about it when I try.”

with two felony counts anyway. On June 21, DeChristo-pher goes to trial.

Ken gets hot just thinking about Tim...

“Here is a case of an unjust action…the oil and gas leas-es...and they’ve shown it was the LEASES that are unjust. The government itself has said it was wrong. The lawsuit from SUWA shows part of this. But here was a young guy who saw all this and said, ‘Nobody is doing anything... this is unjust,’ and rightfully he did something about it. What a glorious thing, acting against an unjust action. Then the BLM and the Justice Department takes him to task. He acted. What a wonderful thing for him to do.

“It’s haunting to me that nobody, no environmental group, is commenting on it. I talked to Groene (executive director of SUWA) and to Liz

TIM DeCHRISTOPHER GOES TO TRIAL

With Seldom Seen Sleight behind Tim, you’d think he could only win. But in the 21st Century, a guy needs all the friends he can fnd. I encourage all of you to follow the links below to stay updated on DeChristopher’s trial. And offer him all the support, in all ways, that you can.

http://www.bidder70.org/

http://www.bidder70.org/articles/view/142551/?topic=16746

http://www.peacefuluprising.org/

Thomas and I said, ‘Where’s your support?’ No support. QUIET! They said, ‘Well he was doing all these things and we were doing this thing and his actions interfered with our actions’...in the name of the environment. And I said, ‘Where is the grassroots?’ I know that SUWA’s lawsuits were benefcial but SO WERE HIS. In the same way. The same fervor. Lawsuits are so slow and DeChristopher accomplished his purpose. He won!

“But I don’t think any of these big outfts like SUWA will even send a delegation to the trial to protest. Groene says he’s not going to do anything or make a statement. They’re afraid it makes them look like they condone that kind of stuff. But for me, the most important thing to realize is [that it is] an unjust law. That’s what this is about.”

From a standpoint of conscience, if they say, ‘I want to do everything I can to atone for my past sins,’ then okay. But most of it is, ‘I give so much to charity,’ and it makes them look great. But if they are really repentant, they ought to get their shovels and go right to work.”

SUWA....NOW WHERE?

After 25 years, the Obama Administration

rejects the Red Rock Bill. Now what??

More than anything, Ken worries about the damage caused by too many people. When Sleight was running tourists down Glen Canyon in the 1950s, he never dreamed the recreation industry would become what it is today. And if it’s this bad now, what will it be like in another 20 years?

In late April, President Obama’s Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar paid a visit to Utah; he came to discuss the long-festering wilderness debate that has polarized so many Utahns for more than 25 years. Wilderness advocates have dreamed of the day when a Democratic administration, combined with overwhelming Democratic congressional majorities, might fnally bring resolution to the debate.

The Red Rock Wilderness Bill, sponsored by SUWA, the Sierra Club, the Wilderness Society and other members of the Utah Coalition, proposes wilderness protection for 9.4 million acres of public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management.

But the bill has gone nowhere. Unanimously opposed by Utah’s congressional delegation, the Coalition have sought sponsorship from congressmen and women across the country and always introduce the legislation as a national issue. But the bill foundered during the Clinton years and, in 2000, a Bush Administration and Republican Congress dashed any hope of passage.

The Red Rock bill has changed over the years as well. As it was originally introduced, the legislation protected 5.1 million acres of public lands. Then it jumped to 5.4, then 5.7 million. For years, the number stayed right there.

A decade later, a SUWA-coordinated “citizens’ inventory” dramatically upped the wilderness acreage to 8.3 million, then 9.1, then 9.4 million acres.

With Barack Obama’s election in November 2008, many wilderness supporters thought their day had fnally come. But Mr. Salazar and the Obama administration have made it clear they prefer a different approach to wilderness designation. For SUWA et al, the news is not what they’d hoped for.

At a public meeting on April 25, Salazar told a packed room of Utah citizens–dominated by SUWA supporters— that he favored a ‘from the ground up’ process that sup-

“They keep trying to bring

more people here.

That spells doom for wilderness.

More people. More people.

How many times have

we talked about that?

More parking lots. More of everything.

We keep building and building.

“They keep trying to bring more people here. That spells doom for wilderness. More people. More people. How many times have we talked about that? More parking lots. More of everything. We keep building and building. Down at Zion they’re about to build a bigger tunnel for the east entrance road. ‘Improving’ it! Adapting to handle ever increased numbers, all for the comfort of the people. Now everybody associates that with preservation. We’ve got to ‘improve’ it so we can get more people in. And that’s what even Obama is saying. I’m an Obama fan in a lot of ways but not this. And look at the offshore drilling now! It’s too much compromise. And nobody is talking about reducing the number of people.”

“Pack Creek Ranch and Moab will be plastic,” Ken says sadly. “Nothing but plastic, and Pack Creek with it. Civilization is already headed that way. It IS that way.

Ken gets frustrated at times. He blames his age more than anything else. The fre is still there, but...

“The older you get, the less sharp you are. You feel all your aches and pains and you don’t quite have it like you used to. I can blame it on people not listening to me. Well maybe the problem is, I’m not putting the word out appropriately. Maybe there comes a time like ol’ Governor Lamm said a long time ago, that it’s time to let the ranch go...I think there might be something to it. I’m still going to fght to the end, but I was much better at fghting for things in a younger era than I am now.”

And what about wilderness? It is the biggest environmental battle in Utah and has been for 20 years. Why do we save wilderness? Ken has some opinions:

“Now it’s how can we USE it...wilderness, that is. Not wilderness for its own merits. I’ve got an idea for wilderness. Let’s carve up a big section and NOBODY goes in there. Leave it to the animals and nature. NOBODY goes in there. I admit I’d be the frst to want to go in there and I’d probably get caught. Why not just have places on the earth

Please go to the last Page...Page 39 to read the remainder of this story...

(either ‘next’ your way to the end, or go to ‘home,’ then click pages 38-39)

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	how in the world can they NOT let their interests get in the way? So as a result, some of these groups, like the Grand Canyon Trust…I think they pull their punches. They won’t take on some issues. White Mesa. Nuclear waste. Glen Canyon. I’d like to get in on that one more time, especially the nuclear stuff. Anyway I think it is legitimate to question the big money on these boards. “I’ve thought a lot about this. After they got all their money in the frst place, whether it’s by oil or gas or uranium or plastics, they’ve created these monsters. Then they come back and want to donate. Are they trying to make amends? How are they making amends? If these big outfts and people want to make amends, then REALLY make amends- Ken stands up. “Let’s get out of this damn offce and breathe some real air.” For once we have a breeze not a gale as we walk into the trees and gaze across the horse pasture to the old Pack Creek lodge, now Ken and Jane’s home. It looks much the same to me as it did 25 years ago, but change is underway. The ranch is administered by a homeowners association and all the owners, including the Sleights, share the commons. Ken ponders the future... “What will it be like, Ken?” I ask. where nobody can go in. Not even scientists! They’re not going to allow that. I always like Dave Foreman’s idea to even take wilderness off the maps. Big blank spots. JUST LEAVE IT LONE! That sounds good to me.” If there’s one subject that riles Ken more than anything else these days, it’s the case of Tim DeChristopher. In December 2008, DeChristopher attended a federal oil and gas lease auction in Salt Lake City. He found himself bidding on the leases even though he had no money to pay for them. In effect, he successfully killed the sale. A month later, the Obama administration voided any future sales of those lands near Moab, but DeChristopher was charged “Pack Creek Ranch and Moab will be plastic,” Ken says sadly. “Nothing but plastic, and Pack Creek with it. Civilization is already headed that way. It IS that way. Plastic is a good word. Plastic individuals. Not really individuals anymore. People will go where they’ve been trained and taught. Control. “Wilderness is supposed to be having the space to be free. When we fought for wilderness, we thought it meant big empty places. I really don’t want to be around for what’s coming and I won’t of course. I’m 80 years old. I’ve turned the corner I guess.” Ken stares down the valley to the towering red wall on the far side of Spanish valley and beyond to the tablelands and mesas and cliffs that have been a part of his home for a lifetime. “Sometimes the fever goes out....But not all the time. It comes back. I may not change the course of anything but I feel better about it when I try.” with two felony counts anyway. On June 21, DeChristo-pher goes to trial. Ken gets hot just thinking about Tim... “Here is a case of an unjust action…the oil and gas leas-es...and they’ve shown it was the LEASES that are unjust. The government itself has said it was wrong. The lawsuit from SUWA shows part of this. But here was a young guy who saw all this and said, ‘Nobody is doing anything... this is unjust,’ and rightfully he did something about it. What a glorious thing, acting against an unjust action. Then the BLM and the Justice Department takes him to task. He acted. What a wonderful thing for him to do. “It’s haunting to me that nobody, no environmental group, is commenting on it. I talked to Groene (executive director of SUWA) and to Liz TIM DeCHRISTOPHER GOES TO TRIAL With Seldom Seen Sleight behind Tim, you’d think he could only win. But in the 21st Century, a guy needs all the friends he can fnd. I encourage all of you to follow the links below to stay updated on DeChristopher’s trial. And offer him all the support, in all ways, that you can. http://www.bidder70.org/ http://www.bidder70.org/articles/view/142551/?topic=16746 http://www.peacefuluprising.org/ Thomas and I said, ‘Where’s your support?’ No support. QUIET! They said, ‘Well he was doing all these things and we were doing this thing and his actions interfered with our actions’...in the name of the environment. And I said, ‘Where is the grassroots?’ I know that SUWA’s lawsuits were benefcial but SO WERE HIS. In the same way. The same fervor. Lawsuits are so slow and DeChristopher accomplished his purpose. He won! “But I don’t think any of these big outfts like SUWA will even send a delegation to the trial to protest. Groene says he’s not going to do anything or make a statement. They’re afraid it makes them look like they condone that kind of stuff. But for me, the most important thing to realize is [that it is] an unjust law. That’s what this is about.” From a standpoint of conscience, if they say, ‘I want to do everything I can to atone for my past sins,’ then okay. But most of it is, ‘I give so much to charity,’ and it makes them look great. But if they are really repentant, they ought to get their shovels and go right to work.” SUWA....NOW WHERE? *After 25 years, the Obama Administration* *rejects the Red Rock Bill. Now what??* More than anything, Ken worries about the damage caused by too many people. When Sleight was running tourists down Glen Canyon in the 1950s, he never dreamed the recreation industry would become what it is today. And if it’s this bad now, what will it be like in another 20 years? In late April, President Obama’s Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar paid a visit to Utah; he came to discuss the long-festering wilderness debate that has polarized so many Utahns for more than 25 years. Wilderness advocates have dreamed of the day when a Democratic administration, combined with overwhelming Democratic congressional majorities, might fnally bring resolution to the debate. The Red Rock Wilderness Bill, sponsored by SUWA, the Sierra Club, the Wilderness Society and other members of the Utah Coalition, proposes wilderness protection for 9.4 million acres of public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management. But the bill has gone nowhere. Unanimously opposed by Utah’s congressional delegation, the Coalition have sought sponsorship from congressmen and women across the country and always introduce the legislation as a national issue. But the bill foundered during the Clinton years and, in 2000, a Bush Administration and Republican Congress dashed any hope of passage. The Red Rock bill has changed over the years as well. As it was originally introduced, the legislation protected 5.1 million acres of public lands. Then it jumped to 5.4, then 5.7 million. For years, the number stayed right there. A decade later, a SUWA-coordinated “citizens’ inventory” dramatically upped the wilderness acreage to 8.3 million, then 9.1, then 9.4 million acres. With Barack Obama’s election in November 2008, many wilderness supporters thought their day had fnally come. But Mr. Salazar and the Obama administration have made it clear they prefer a different approach to wilderness designation. For SUWA et al, the news is not what they’d hoped for. At a public meeting on April 25, Salazar told a packed room of Utah citizens–dominated by SUWA supporters— that he favored a ‘from the ground up’ process that sup- “They keep trying to bring more people here. That spells doom for wilderness. More people. More people. How many times have we talked about that? More parking lots. More of everything. We keep building and building. “They keep trying to bring more people here. That spells doom for wilderness. More people. More people. How many times have we talked about that? More parking lots. More of everything. We keep building and building. Down at Zion they’re about to build a bigger tunnel for the east entrance road. ‘Improving’ it! Adapting to handle ever increased numbers, all for the comfort of the people. Now everybody associates that with preservation. We’ve got to ‘improve’ it so we can get more people in. And that’s what even Obama is saying. I’m an Obama fan in a lot of ways but not this. And look at the offshore drilling now! It’s too much compromise. And nobody is talking about reducing the number of people.” “Pack Creek Ranch and Moab will be plastic,” Ken says sadly. “Nothing but plastic, and Pack Creek with it. Civilization is already headed that way. It IS that way. Ken gets frustrated at times. He blames his age more than anything else. The fre is still there, but... “The older you get, the less sharp you are. You feel all your aches and pains and you don’t quite have it like you used to. I can blame it on people not listening to me. Well maybe the problem is, I’m not putting the word out appropriately. Maybe there comes a time like ol’ Governor Lamm said a long time ago, that it’s time to let the ranch go...I think there might be something to it. I’m still going to fght to the end, but I was much better at fghting for things in a younger era than I am now.” And what about wilderness? It is the biggest environmental battle in Utah and has been for 20 years. Why do we save wilderness? Ken has some opinions: “Now it’s how can we USE it...wilderness, that is. Not wilderness for its own merits. I’ve got an idea for wilderness. Let’s carve up a big section and NOBODY goes in there. Leave it to the animals and nature. NOBODY goes in there. I admit I’d be the frst to want to go in there and I’d probably get caught. Why not just have places on the earth Please go to the last Page...Page 39 to read the remainder of this story... (either ‘next’ your way to the end, or go to ‘home,’ then click pages 38-39)

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