Letters: Protecting 1.9 million acres is excessive

Let’s talk about what-ifs: What if someone wanted to put say, 10 oil rigs out on this proposed Bears Ears Monument? Would it help the economy of the poorest county in the state?

Yes!

Each rig would need 10 acres (just a guess). That’s a total of 100 acres. They want to protect 1,900,000 acres for 100 acres. That’s a little excessive.

Would the oil rigs really offend people that came here to see the ruins? No, it has not bothered anyone yet. One of the canyons with the highest concentration of ruins in the county already has many oil rigs on it and it does not stop anyone from visiting.

What if someone wanted to do some uranium mining? Would it go right in the middle of ruins? No, they are already protected under the antiquities laws. Cedar Mesa is already mostly wilderness area and designated National Historic area. Let’s say someone did want a uranium mine and it took 200 acres. They want to protect 1,900,000 acres for 200 acres of mining? Would it help the local economy? Yes! Would it bother or stop anyone from visiting ruins or enjoying the beauty of the Bears Ears? No!

When Secretary Jewell came to visit she was taken to a ruin called Moon House. This ruin has been there approximately 1,000 years. It still has paint on the inside walls and most of the ruins in its immediate vicinity are whole. They and all the ruins have been and will continue to be protected. Only 20 people a day are allowed into this particular ruin. You have to stop and get a permit to go there and see them. No dogs are allowed at the ruins.

These and all the ruins sound pretty protected already. They are 1,000 years old after all. Weather and animals have played a part in the destruction. The locals that supposedly have looted and destroyed these ruins must have missed this ruin and many others. I can personally take anyone to any canyon in this county and show you whole, still intact ruins. The people that put holes in the ruins and did most of the looting were the Wetherills over 130 years ago.

Yes, we have some scoundrels that may do some looting but just wait and see what kind of destruction happens when you bring in hordes of people to explore these canyons and ruins.

The locals love this land and want to be able to make a living and not destroy anything. We just want to live in our solitude and share the land as needed. Putting 1,900,000 acres into a national monument is excessive. We already have Hovenweep National Monument, Natural Bridges National Monument, Canyonlands National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, National Forest, the Ute Reservation, and the Navajo Reservation within our county.

Can we please have a little land to hunt, fish, gather wood, and recreate on? Maybe we could have a little for making some money too.

Wendy Black
Blanding, Utah

Aussie elder seeks Navajo pen pals

Hello and greetings from South Australia, on this huge island known as Australia.

I am an aged South Australian, a country boy, and wish to learn about the culture and heritage of the Navajo people from way, way back and right up to right now.

Indeed, right now I see on the Internet that your people are holding a Bigfoot conference with Matt Moneymaker from the TV show “Finding Bigfoot” as guest speaker.

Thus already, right there is a topic, which I, as a skeptic about Bigfoot and the legend of the Bigfoot cousin the Australian Yowie, wish to learn about. Are they real? But if they are, then what is the experience of the Navajo people from way, way back to right now with regards to this being?

But, when I get an email from a Navajo email pen pal (or even two, three or more), then I will respond to each person in the way as if they were just the only one. We are all one and each has had different things happen to us and it is those individual things that go to making a great email pen pal.

My email address is graeme.mcvitty@y7mail.com. Please let the news be spread that an old Aussie bloke wants to find a lifelong email pen pal and let the writing begin.

Graeme McVitty
South Australia

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