Protecting Native Lands - Please Help
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If you'd like to help our Native people protect their Bears Ears home and stop the highest communications tower in the state of Utah, 480 feet tall, it's as simple as signing a petition in the next few days And feel free to spread the word far and wide.
Learn about it here: https://suwa.org/communications-tower-may-soon-loom-over-bears-ears/
The petition to sign is here: https://secure.suwa.org/site/R?i=GBxTTiqjWakpshxYvN2YYShXETn1ImiLM9ElSMn...
From the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance:
A Florida-based developer has proposed a 480-foot communications tower on a state-owned piece of land in the heart of Bears Ears National Monument. The proposed tower would be the tallest structure in Utah—and blinking lights would make it impossible to escape the visual impact throughout much of Bears Ears, as well as from portions of Natural Bridges National Monument (the first International Dark Sky Park certified by the International Dark-Sky Association).
The developer’s application to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) falsely claims that “. . . this proposed project has not been any source of controversy on environmental grounds within the local community.” But neither the developer nor the FCC consulted with the Bears Ears Commission, Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, or numerous other Tribes and Pueblos with longstanding cultural ties to Bears Ears and Natural Bridges.
Please sign our petition to show the FFC just how important this landscape is!
The proposed tower is on a Utah Trust Lands Administration parcel located off Utah State Route 95 at the turnoff for Natural Bridges and Halls Crossing. The maximum height for buildings in this area is usually a mere 35 feet, but the San Juan County Planning Commission has approved a “Conditional Use Permit” request from the developer to allow the enormous tower, antennas, and radio transmitting equipment as well as associated ground equipment shelters, emergency generator, and solar panel arrays.
Former San Juan County commissioner and Navajo Nation Council Delegate Mark Maryboy recently wrote, “If erected, this alien-looking tower will be a spear in the heart of the Bears Ears area.” Under the proposed Bear Ears Land Exchange (which the state of Utah pulled out of) this parcel would have been transferred from the state to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the tower application would have been rejected.
The FCC approval is one of several the developer is seeking; they will also need sign-off from the San Juan County Commission and the Utah Trust Lands Administration. It’s critical that we show every decision-making body that this project is short-sighted and opposed by San Juan County residents, Utahns, and people from across the country who love Bears Ears and Natural Bridges National Monuments.
Please sign our “No Communications Tower in Bears Ears National Monument” petition by Monday, July 29 and consider sharing it with friends and family. Learn more about the proposed tower here.
For Wild Utah,
Judi Brawer
Wildlands Attorney
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION!
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Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: dimethyllovebeam
Done. Thanks, Slickrock.
Done. Thanks, Slickrock.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mice elf
signed
signed
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: 19.5 Degrees
Thanks Slickrock, Signed.
Thanks Slickrock, Signed.
Only recently have I been in the area, super cool place! ... and worthwhile of protection from further encroachment
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Semolina Pilchard
Signed.
Signed.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Strangha
Thank you, folks. Such a
Thank you, folks. Such a stupid f'in idea.
The problem is school trust lands. When Congress let Utah into the United States, they divvied up land and gave the state 160 acre parcels in a weird pattern. See the blue squares in the map below. The state is to maximize income from these lands to support education, protection of surrounding land be damned. Problem is these lands are sometimes in areas where "maximizing income" is not compatible with the surrounding area, like Bears Ears Nat'l Monument. Often, the feds and the state will "trade" these lands to avoid conflicts. You can see where Canyonlands NP and Grand Staircase NM have hardly any. Recently the state backed out of a deal to do that, and now the state is looking to buy leases on some federal lands as conservation groups are leasing parcels for conservation purposes rather than development and grazing in the desert.
The full map is here if you want to see it. https://gis.trustlands.utah.gov/portal/apps/experiencebuilder/experience...
So bottom line, the state HAS to maximize income and I guess this parcel in Bears Ears wasn't ever traded out. The parcels have rights-of-way, including tearing a road through wilderness lands if need be to get to them. The state often uses these situations as leverage to get what they want from the feds. Utah hates the feds and resents that almost 63% of Utah land is controlled by federal agencies.
But our governor has a program he touts nationally and gets kudos for to "disagree better." It's bullshit. And the movement to get federal lands into state's hands is strong here.
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Signed. Thanks, Slickrock.
Signed. Thanks, Slickrock.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: DNB - Best band & fans in the land!
Done and done.
Done and done.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: gypsy tailwind
signed
signed
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: An organ grinder’s tune
done
done
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: 19.5 Degrees
When Congress let Utah into
When Congress let Utah into the United States, they divvied up land and gave the state 160 acre parcels in a weird pattern.<<<<
Not sure if it's the same thing, but learned about "checkerboarding" in a biography of Chester Nez (who was a "Code Talker" in WW2) ... when he described how the parcels in the area he grew up in (Land of the Navajo) as but one of many tactics to ultimately nudge native people to assimilate.
From ChatGPT:
Checkerboarding is a term used to describe a land ownership pattern that emerged in the United States, particularly in relation to Native American lands, as a result of policies and practices initiated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This pattern involves a mix of different types of land ownership, leading to a "checkerboard" appearance on a map.
Historical Context and Mechanism
The practice of checkerboarding primarily resulted from the implementation of the Dawes Act (General Allotment Act) of 1887. The Dawes Act aimed to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream American society by transforming their communal landholdings into individual allotments. The goals were to encourage agriculture, reduce tribal landholdings, and open up "surplus" lands for non-Native settlement and development.
Here's how checkerboarding occurred:
Individual Allotments: Tribal lands were divided into individual parcels, typically 160 acres per family head, 80 acres per single adult, and 40 acres per child. These parcels were distributed to Native American individuals.
Surplus Land Sales: After the allotments were distributed, any remaining "surplus" land was sold to non-Native settlers, often to railroad companies, mining interests, and other commercial enterprises.
Land Inheritance and Sales: Over time, the allotments often became fractionated due to inheritance laws, where land was divided among descendants. Additionally, many Native Americans were compelled or coerced into selling their allotted lands, leading to further non-Native ownership.
Consequences of Checkerboarding
The checkerboarding of land had several significant consequences:
Fragmentation of Tribal Lands: The communal integrity of tribal lands was severely disrupted, making it difficult for tribes to maintain cohesive land bases and traditional practices.
Jurisdictional Complications: The mixed ownership created complex jurisdictional issues, complicating law enforcement, land management, and the provision of services on reservations.
Economic Challenges: The fragmented land ownership hindered economic development and self-sufficiency for many Native American communities, as managing and utilizing the scattered parcels was challenging.
Cultural Impact: The loss of communal land and the pressure to assimilate eroded traditional cultural practices and social structures within Native American tribes.
Modern Implications
Today, the legacy of checkerboarding continues to affect many Native American reservations. Efforts to consolidate and restore tribal lands have been ongoing, often through land purchases, land exchanges, and legislative actions aimed at reversing the effects of the allotment policies.
Overall, checkerboarding is a vivid example of the complex and often detrimental impact of U.S. policies on Native American lands and communities.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Strangha
Thanks to everyone who signed
A big thank you to everyone who signed. Tonight was the deadline.
If you want to be informed about things, https://www.bearsearscoalition.org/
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: comic book colors on a violin river...
WoW...Slick, I am enthralled
WoW...Slick, I am enthralled with all of this ! Been an east coaster farmgal all my life, was talking to a neighbor in my over 55 community and found out I am living on ,,,tribal lands, made me do a deep dive into it,,,,wow !
The Lenni-Lenape Indians, a member of the Delaware Tribe, hunted the woods and fished the streams in early times. Little opposition was given the white man when he settled here. The first settlement now known as Williamstown was called “Squankum”, an Indian name meaning, “Place of Evil Ghosts”
I will keep attending to this thread, and thanks for links, I guess i know where this eastie gal and sideshow will travel to in the future, heading West ....many Blessings <3
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Strangha
WOW! Doesn't it feel good
WOW! Doesn't it feel good when things go right? THANK YOU!!!!!!!!
I just got this this morning. The Bears Ears Coalition site is a good one for info, as is SUWA's.
https://www.bearsearscoalition.org/ https://suwa.org/
Great news! The proposal for a 480-foot communications tower in the heart of Bears Ears National Monument has been withdrawn! This is a moment for celebration—thank you to everyone who signed our petition and spoke up in opposition to what former San Juan County commissioner and Navajo Nation Council Delegate Mark Maryboy described as “a spear in the heart of the Bears Ears area.”
Fighting off bad ideas like this requires a wide range of people and organizations, and I’m particularly proud of the role SUWA played and the expertise we provided. We called out the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the applicant for their failures to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and for their failure to consult with numerous tribes that have significant cultural ties to Bears Ears, including the Hopi Tribe and the Navajo Nation.
In seeking FCC approval, the developer filed an “Environmental Assessment Summary Report.” On Monday, July 29, SUWA and 7 other groups submitted a formal “Request for Environmental Review of the Proposed Bears Ears Site” challenging the application and demanding a full Environmental Impact Statement. Among many other issues, we pointed out that “Nowhere does the Summary Report mention that the tower is in the middle of BENM—in fact, not one of the 21 maps provided in the application . . . show BENM. And, with no supporting information or analysis, it claims that there will be no impacts on cultural, visual, natural, or any other resources.”
With us paying close attention to the developer’s proposal, it had no chance of being approved, and over 4,000 people who signed our petition agreed that Bears Ears was no place for a 480-foot tower!
You can count on SUWA to be vigilant in protecting Bears Ears from short-sighted and ill-conceived projects like this one. President Biden's 2021 proclamation re-establishing Bears Ears National Monument describes this special place as “one of the most extraordinary cultural landscapes in the United States” with a “unique density of significant cultural, historical, and archaeological artifacts spanning thousands of years.” The proposed tower, and its blinking red lights, would have been visible from across much of the monument, as well as from Natural Bridges National Monument—the first ever Dark Sky Park.
We hope you’ll take some time to celebrate, as our staff are doing today. If you’re able, please consider making a donation to support our work to protect Bears Ears and the redrock wilderness.
For the redrock,
Judi Brawer
Wildlands Attorney
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance