NOTE: This is the first in a series. What has changed in Moab & Vicinity in the last couple of decades? These are my own remembrances going back to the late 70s. What was here…what’s gone…what’s lost forever? And…what’s new?…
In large part, my personal opposition to a large new national monument in San Juan County was always based on a straightforward risk assessment of the likely consequences under “monument” versus “no monument” scenarios. On the one hand, it seemed…
NOTE: For the purposes of this story I refer to the area of Grand Gulch and Cedar Mesa as “Bears Ears.” But please note that in the forty-seven years I’ve known and wandered southeast Utah, literally NOBODY ever referred to…
Note: Yesterday, the Deseret News ran a shorter version of this summary. This 1400 word essay provides a more detailed analysis of the Monument debate, which is sure to continue after yesterday’s announcement by President Trump that the Monument will…
For months advocates and opponents of a proposed Bears Ears National Monument debated the pros and cons of such a designation. It appeared all but certain that President Obama’s administration would embrace the plan and monument proponents appeared to have…
THE PROCLAMATION: On December 28, 2016, President Obama, by proclamation, designated 1.35 million acres of federally owned land in southeast Utah as “Bears Ears National Monument.” The President stated that he had taken this action, “to protect some of our…
Recently, the Utah Wildlife Board proposed a hunting season for crows. While they are not particularly tasty and are known for their intelligence, crows have often been blamed by farmers for agricultural losses via crop damage—crows have to eat, after…
Not long ago, a barn that had stood in my Colorado hometown for 90 years was demolished, but not before a land developer tried to purchase it for his new ranch. An old red barn. A wealthy real estate magnate.…