May 2010 Newsletter
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
Download May 2010 Newsletter (pdf)
| Posted in Club News Letters | Comments Off
Archive for April, 2010
Interior Secretary Salazar to attend land meeting in Utah
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
Interior Secretary Salazar to attend land meeting in Utah
April 22nd, 2010 @ 4:26pm
By Richard Piatt
SALT LAKE CITY — Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will visit Utah. It’s not often that a secretary of the interior takes on a visit like this, and especially now, in a strong anti-federal government climate.
Gov. Gary Herbert made the announcement Thursday morning. Herbert says Salazar will attend Monday’s Balanced Resource Council meeting — that’s a diverse group concerned with public land policy, water and air quality.
There are specific concerns about public land use. For example, the sharp differences over permits for drilling, ongoing issues with access to wilderness areas, and more.
When Salazar comes to Utah, he’s sure to get an earful; but the governor says the dialogue will be healthy.
“I think it’s indicative of the fact that we’re looking for solutions and finding common ground, instead of the shrill rhetoric and animus that’s been built up over time,” Herbert said. “I think that’s counterproductive.”
“He’ll hear the Utah point of view,” said Ted Wilson, chairman of the Balanced Resource Council. “It may not be comfortable for him in every way, but he’ll hear it. We’ll work diplomatically with him to achieve what we think is important, and that’s what this meeting is all about.”
In addition to Wilson, other members of the Balanced Resource Council include Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, and San Juan County commissioner Lynn Stevens; both are outspoken advocates for states’ rights and could hit Salazar up with some sharp questions.
The public is also invited to the meeting. Environmental groups like the Sierra Club and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance are expected to round out the meeting with Salazar as well.
The meeting with Salazar will be at the State Capital on Monday April 26th at 10:00 am.
| Posted in News | Comments Off
APRIL 24th, 2010 Behind the Reef Trail ride.
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
APRIL 24th, 2010 Behind the Reef Trail ride. Location is by Goblin Valley / Temple
Mountain. This is about a 60 mile ride. Bring your own lunch.
Trail leader; Clayton Campbell. Meet at the People Pasture aka “camp ground” @ 10: am
Clayton will be there from the 20th of April to the 25th. If anyone would like to go
down for a weekday ride and or help with trail work, Clayton would be more than
happy if you could join him. Question? Contact Clayton @ 435-820-4698
| Posted in Upcoming Trips | Comments Off
Outlaw Trails Jamboree
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
Outlaw Trails Jamboree
April 29- May 1
Green River, Utah
www.outlawtrailsjamboree.com
| Posted in Upcoming Trips | Comments Off
Utah Wilderness and Monuments: When Is It Enough?
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010
Last Thursday USA-ALL was on the ground with Emery County Officials and Public Lands Council, BLM, SUWA, and other stake holders. We were on a “field-trip” to discuss potential Wilderness designation and other land use issues. USA-ALL was there to advocate for our members and represent those who access this area with motor vehicles. We were happy to do the job. We hope our involvement will better protect access to this region. Our position is that no roads should be closed, in fact we think a few should be re-opened. We are working on that. With your continued support we will be able to continue our work.
The process that Emery County and other Utah counties are engaged in to pro-actively address the Wilderness issue MAY be a way to protect against huge land grab bills. Bills such as SUWA’s self titled, “America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act (ARRWA).” One thing we know for sure, no matter what happens in Emery County SUWA will continue to push ARRWA. I have been told that personally by their executive director. Therefore we cannot rest or trust that small local land use bills will be sufficient to stop ARRWA from passing. We must be there to combat ARRWA at every turn. If this bill passes it will have profound negative affects on other western states. Other environmentalist groups will be emboldened and more huge bills will surely follow. Not to mention the damage it will do to Utah.
We recently sent out a fundraising letter to past donors. We thought we would include it in this email in hopes that more of you would join our organization and or use it by forwarding it to your friends and encourage them to join as well.
We are taking action now because we are concerned that in the past Utah has been a political pawn of Washington D.C. Not too many years ago President Clinton designated 1.9 MILLION acres of our state as a National Monument. 1.9 MILLION ACRES! It was a political stunt then and it is likely to happen in some form again. I wouldn’t put it past this administration or leaders of Congress to take a page from the Clinton play book and stick it to us again. SUWA’s ARRWA is the perfect vehicle for such a play. We are concerned what may become of SUWA’s Wilderness bill and the threats of new monuments in Utah and other western states. With this November’s mid-term elections and the presidential election in 2 years the time is near when bold moves may be made.
Utah is the reddest state in the country. Arrogant or desperate politicians know this and are therefore willing to throw us under the bus if they think it will gain them votes in the “environmental” community. We intend to stop that from happening. Our goal is to establish a war chest with $250,000 in it to be used to stop the bill from passing and to combat new National Monuments. In addition to money we also need names because as you know politicians pay attention to large blocks of voters. Simply put we are amassing money and names to be used to protect our access to public lands in Utah. If you will, please encourage others to donate to us and lend us their good names. If enough of us band together we can and we will protect the things we all love so much.
| www.suwa.org |
 |
Our Recent Fundraising Letter
March 4, 2010
Dear Friend,
Without your immediate help, we could lose over 40% of the public land managed by the BLM in Utah! The possibility of losing this land in the next year is very real. A radical environmentalist group, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA), has made huge progress on advancing their ill intended 9.4 million acre Utah Wilderness bill (H.R. 1925). Should this bill pass you can kiss goodbye recreational gems like the San Rafael Desert and Moab. USA-ALL has the experience and ability to beat this bill and minimize or eliminate it. We need you to take action to help protect the public’s access to these valuable places.
On October 1, 2009 a Congressional committee held a hearing on this bill. We attended the hearing and helped represent how this bill would cause tremendous harm. Our side did well in the hearing but it wasn’t enough to stop SUWA from advancing their agenda. In mid November 2009 the House sponsor of the bill, Congressman Hinchey (D-NY), along with other Congressmen sent a letter to the Obama administration and pressured them to take action on this bill and assist in passing it. Congressman Hinchey also asked the Department of the interior to exercise its considerable power and manage the land in the bill as Wilderness BEFORE Congress acts on it! This is the same Obama administration that pulled 77 Utah oil and gas leases from leases, and essentially denied Utah school children of critical funds that would have come from the development of those leases. Not to mention badly needed jobs and other economic opportunity. This is the same Administration that has tried to designate some of this same land as a national monument with-out first talking to local folks. You’ll remember that President Clinton did this to us in 1996 with the creation of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. That moved has significantly harmed Utahans and we are still dealing with the fall -out from that.
Utah is under attack. The Western U.S. is under attack. Radical environmentalists and their political lackeys are working aggressively to take away our quality of life and tell us how to live according to THEIR ideas. In Utah the principal offender is SUWA. Recently SUWA board member and Swiss citizen, Hansjorg Wyss, stepped down from his position as Chairman. Not coincidentally he also was recently charged with federal crimes involving his personal business and the death of some of his employees. SUWA is no stranger to having criminals at their helm. In 2006 2 of their board members, one of which was their treasurer, were convicted on separate but similar federal fraud charges related to banking scams. These are the leaders of the organization we know will use any tactic legitimate or not to bring about their goal of closing public land to vehicle access.
We bring these things to light to illustrate an important point:
A Swiss citizen leading an radical environmental organization is trying to lock up public land in the USA. This alone is concerning.
3 of SUWA’s board members have been charged with serious federal crimes. 2 have been convicted 1 is awaiting trial. This is the caliber of SUWA’s leadership. We believe this speaks volumes about the organization and those involved in it.
A Congressman from New York and a Senator from Chicago, Illinois are the sponsors of the bill that would turn 9,400,000 acres of public land in Utah into Wilderness and thereby close it to vehicle access.
NONE of Utah’s Congressmen or Senators supports this bill.
The Obama administration, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), are all strongly sympathetic to radical environmentalism.
In February 2010 documents showing the BLM has been considering designating areas in the San Rafael and Cedar Mesa as National Monuments (de-facto Wilderness) surface.
The important Point: Do the math. Our way of life even our very ideals are under attack by those who care little for you or our western way of life. USA-ALL has been fighting back with all we have. The purpose of this letter is to grow our support so we may fight harder and more effectively. Will you join us?
Here is the brutal truth about what needs to be done:
-
We need to get the word out about this to everyone and anyone who may care. We need to send people to Washington D.C. to future hearings.
-
We need to be able to tell our side of the story to anyone in Congress who will listen.
-
We need to unite and direct the energies and voices of tens of thousands of Utahans and other Americans.
-
We need to fund educational projects to spread the word about what is happening on this bill and other assaults on our way of life. We know the more that learn about what is going on the more we can unite and protect ourselves, our families, and our way of life.
We are dedicated to our mission to protect access to public land. We have the expertise to stop this bill but we don’t have very much time or money to complete this enormous task. We need thousands of individuals like you to get involved and to get others involved.
Here’s how you can help:
-
Donate as much money as you can to help us stop new monuments and battle this bill.
-
Encourage and apply peer pressure to your friends and everyone you know to donate and join USA-ALL.
-
If you have any expertise or other ways to help, give us a call at 801-830-9112.
-
Be ready to act when we ask. Go to www.usaall.org and join our free email list. We will need you to call legislators, write letters, etc. Let us focus your efforts where they will be most effective.
I am sure many of you are sick of hearing us beg for money. Believe me we are sick of begging. This is really a defining do-or-die time. We can’t fight multiple multi-million dollar environmental organizations on guts and determination alone. We also can’t wait until the last second before this bill is voted on by Congress. We must fight it now! We need a serious injection of cash, which will be used judiciously and effectively. Your donations are also tax deductible. Is $50 too much to ask to donate, what about $100? Our annual membership is only $30. What is access to 9.4 million acres of Utah public land worth to you? What can you give? Click here and give us your answer 
.
. Get on board the “Stop SUWA Express!” We appreciate every dollar donated.
| Posted in News | Comments Off
April 2010 Newsletter
Monday, April 12th, 2010
Download April 2010 Newsletter (pdf)
| Posted in Club News Letters | Comments Off
Help educate New Yorkers about Hinchey’s Red Rock Bill
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010
Everyone,
I received this from the George Phillips campaign in New York state.
If you are good at writing Letter’s to the Editor, please consider sending
some to the New York papers. I find it interesting that most of Hinchey’s
constituants don’t know that THEIR congressmen has spent the last 15 years
trying to cram the Red Rock Land Grab down the throats of UTAH residents who
oppose it.
Perhaps Mr. Hinchey should focus on spending his time, efforts and money
“fixing” problems in his own state instead of trying to DESTROY the economy
of rural Utah.
AJP
*****************************************************************
Dear Mr. Peterson
>
> This is a list of New York newspapers that fall into Hinchey’s
> district. Unfortunately most of the people in the district don’t know
> that for the past 15 years he’s been the main sponsor of a bill to close
> 9.5 million acres of public land in Utah. If you know anyone that would
> like to submit editorials please send this note along.
>
> This is a list of area newspapers that fall within the 22nd Congressional
> District of New York.
>
> The Press & Sun-Bulletin is a daily newspaper serving the area around
> Binghamton, New York. www.pressconnects.com
>
> The Ithaca Journal is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper published in
> Ithaca, New York. http://www.theithacajournal.com/
>
> The Daily Freeman serving the Hudson Valley region of the district.
> http://www.dailyfreeman.com/
>
> The Poughkeepsie Journal is a newspaper based in Poughkeepsie, New York.
> http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/
>
> The Times Herald-Record, often referred to as The Record in its coverage
> area, is a daily newspaper published in Middletown, New York.
> http://www.recordonline.com/
| Posted in News | Comments Off
Forest Service to hold planning meeting
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010
Pamela Brown, Manti-La Sal National Forest Supervisor, announced a series of events to provide opportunities for public discussion on the development of a new Forest Service Land and Resource Management Planning Rule. A roundtable discussion will be held on April 8, at Manti-La Sal National Forest Supervisor’s Office, 599 W. Price River Drive, Price, from 1-4 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. Each session will be identical. In addition to the roundtable meeting in Price, the Forest Service will host a national science forum, three national roundtables, eight regional roundtables and 14 roundtable meetings throughout the Intermountain Region on April 8 at each Forest supervisor’s office. Meeting locations, agenda and pre-registration can be found at www.fs.fed.us/r4 by clicking on the “Planning Rule” link.
For more information regarding these events, contact Marlene Depietro at 435-636-3539.
Providing multiple opportunities for public participation ties directly to President Obama’s call for open government that is transparent, participatory and collaborative, and illustrates Service commitment to engage the public in the development of a new planning rule. “We encourage broad public participation in our regional roundtables,” said Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. “Through collaboration we will be able to better address the current and future needs of the National Forest System such as restoration, protecting watersheds, addressing climate change, sustaining local economies, improving collaboration, and working across landscapes.” Summaries from discussions in the science forum, national and regional roundtables, along with the individual comments received during the 60-day formal comment period on the Notice of Intent, will be used to develop the proposed rule and a draft environmental impact statement. To encourage widespread participation the Forest Service is using new media tools in conjunction with the public meetings. Visit http://blogs.usda.gov/usdablogs/planningrule to participate in the planning rule blog and sign up to follow the Forest Service on Twitter at www.twitter.com/forestservice.
Emery County Progress 4-6-2010
| Posted in News | Comments Off