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Show igjtiM (The Page A10 ww-i- r' if WstV Thursday, March 21, 2002 (Dnug-3nhrpfnhr- nt OUftTOWN I NOT L0N Community Comments I by Sam Taylor tn 1855, the Elk Muuntam Mission as established in Moab Valley the men sent here to colonize ttie valley under orders from LDS Church officials m Salt Lake City The earliest anglo settlers built a stone fort near where tfie Motel 6 now stands, dug an irrigation ditch from Mill Creek near 400 East Street and began planting a few crops near the fort The settlement didnt last long Continuing and growing troubles with the Indians who had lived in the area tor years, forced Mission President Alfred Billings to abandon tfie fort later that same year and return to tfie north Tfiey left m a hurry No one bother'd to shut off tfie irritation ditch, and by the time the valley was permanently settled in tfie late 1870s, it had wastied itself into a major arroyo cutting through tfie middle of what was to become Moab City Only a trace of ttiat arroyo is now left, beginning near tfie Ser rest ostrich farm along 400 East and Williams Way it stretches to near 500 West The rest of the channel, over tfie years, tias been filled in and developed for residential and commercial uses When the first permanent settlers arrived just before 1880, the tort was still standing Those first families were motivated by the desire to raise livestock here, not to bring religion to the natives On ttieir arrival, they found two men living m the tort One was a F rench Canadian trapper, known only as "Freud lie The other was William Granstaff, a black man Tfie two had survived in the valley long enough to grow a small garden and establish themselves I have never been able to learn much about Frenchie," but did learn that Granstaff later built a cabin in what is now known as Negro Bill Canyon where tie lived for some time before disappearing He was later seen operating a small business in Denver by my grandfather who had traveled there on business I have just learned that he died in 1 901 , having starved to death in a mining cabin near Glenwood Springs, Colo He was obviously a respeded man He left his mark on the Moab area, and tfie canyon was named after him. During my growing up years the canyon bore a quite distasteful name Later, when modern mapping and "place naming" occurred, the name was sanitized to Negro Bill Canyon a name it bears today But times change and people change, hopefully lor the better A small group of residents appeared before the Grand County Council this week to urge support in getting the canyon renamed. I like the idea. Why not call the spot "William Granstaff Canyon?" The fact that the name would make no reference to Bill's ethnicity doesnt bother me In my mind he was a pioneer and colonist m this area. The fact that he might have had a skin color darker than most of the settlers doesnt hold much weight m my mind. I applaud the group's efforts, and hope they are successful in their quest tor a name change William Granstaff was a big part of the earliest modern history of Moab Valley and its surrounding canyon country The canyon should bear his whole name sjt There are a lot of issues that are really important Two of them, the Atlas tailings matter and the fiscal problems facing the Grand Water District, are detailed in Page A1 articles in this issue. Sometimes, though, the little things become so irritating that they overshadow matters of extreme importance Traffic signals along Mam Street are a continuing irritant to me, and to a lot of others who live and work in Moab The major renovation of the signals last year, a project that must have cost well in excess of a million dollars, has left things worse than they were before. It seems that the timing plan for the signals might well have been designed by the American trucking industry To cross Main Street from one side of the community to the other takes lots of time and extreme patience. If you are a pedestrian, who dutifully pressed the little button to encourage the lights to change to green, youd better hurry. They will stay green for only a short time, and you need to be fleet of foot to make it. The signals have divided the community. I live on one side of Mam Street and work on the other side. Getting to and from home and work becomes a daily challenge and a test of my patience. The Utah Department of Transportation would be well advised to take another look at their timing plan Moab residents have rights too, not just those passing through. Many Trails by Adrien F. Taylor Although not completely compiled, the initial of the Grand County Fair Board's community survey has presented ample food tor thought, as planning goes forward for this year's event. Because of factors beyond its control this year, the fair (and the name will continue to be the Grand County Fair, by popular choice) will be in competition with Green River's annual Melon Days on Sept. 19 through 21. The board regrets this unfortunate happenstance, and will work to insure it doesn't occur again in the future. The fair will continue to be held at the Spanish Trail Arena, which is also the county's designated fairgrounds' With the September date, it will be possible to place live animal displays outside the building And, although some people have complained about "how far out It is," thcyie responding to the survey were split down the middle on the possibility of a bus shuttle from downtown My reaction, it's all relative. If you were living in Salt Lake City, you would likely have to travel much further to get to the fairgrounds than you do here in Grand County And you probably wouldnt complain about it The environment is another, literally sticky question Last year it was too hot and humid in the building for anyone to be comfortable This year's date should help the heat problem, and other actions can be taken to improve the climate control The dirt floor at the arena has also been a source of dissatisfaction from some, although others don't seem to mind it at all The Fair Board is looking mto moveable flooring, which would make the arena more Inviting for any number of different events So what do people want to see at the fair? First mention will be those activities that garnered support from 75 or more survey respondents In the area of displays and judged categories, the most popular were items over 50 years old, quilts, photography, and animals If subcategories are grouped together, the sur results Qllje States vey shows that people want to continue seeing baking and candy, creative arts, fine arts, floriculture, gardening, home canning and home handicrafts at the fair. Among competitions listed, survey respondents said they would like to see a team greased pig chase, a greased pole climb contest, a Miss Grand County contest, a chile cook-of- f contest, a Dutch oven contest, and a group tug-o- f war. Horse shoes, wall climbing, pie eating and frisbee also showed popularity In the area of additional exhibits and performances, people said they would like: Native American Ftow Wow exhibits, musical concerts, beer and desert landscaping and rug wine tasting, small-are- a with other types of demonstrations also weaving, comment. favorable receiving Specialty foods showcased by local restaurants had high popular approval. And food vender booths in general met with high approval. Grand County citizens like to eat! What do they like to eat, judging from the survey: corn on the cob, Indian fry bread, Navajo tacos, hot dogs and hamburgers, cotton candy, pie, cookies and melon slices. Of suggested activities for children, a fish pond, a ring toss on floating ducks, carnival rides and a petting zoo were popular. Unfortunately, it appears no carnival will be available in this area over the fair timeframe this year. And so, surveys are still dribbling in, but with over half of the original 500 returned, it appears the people have spoken, and the Fair Board will now get cracking to organize what fieople have said they want. There is a bottom line here The County Council has budgeted $ 1 7,000 for this year's fair, and if it is not a success, the council has said it will discontinue support for the fair. This is do or die, both for organizers and for the public. So if you start to see little signs around seed displays and the like asking what you are going to grow to show at the fair, take the question as a personal challenge and get involved. -- (31 ubcpmbntt ISSN (UPS) 6309-200Entered as Second class Matter at the Post Office at Moab, Utah under the Act of March Second class postage paid at Moab, Utah 84532. Official City and County Newspaper. Published each Thursday at: 35 East Center Street, Moab, Grand County, Utah 84532 1538-183- 8 3, 1897. address: edhorOmoabtimes.com e-m- Postmaster Send changes of address to: The P.0 Times-independe- or FAX Member Box 129. Moab, UT 84532 435-259-77- NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION and PRESS ASSOCIATION Samuel J. and Adrien F. Taylor, Publishers Sena T. Flanders, Editor UTAH Tom Taylor Zane Taylor Flon Flanders Frank kn Seal Usa Church. Sade Warner. Dorothy Andemon Circulation Manager, T4 Maps Press, Production Manager Systems Manager News Writer News Writer 05ce Jose SCOFFED. Bobbie Domemck, Jed Taylor Dann Hawk Betty Bailey Ron Drake Ron George Manager,1 SaiesDesign Man Room Supervisor Over Hams Distribution Churampi Ryan McDowell Backshop SalesProduction Green River Correspondent Castle Valley columnist Cotommst Columnist Sports Idle Thoughts from Mt. Waas by Ollie Harris 40 years on Mt. Peale Rock may have journeyed over the Hole-lY&il more times than any living man. It got me to thinking. I suppose that there is really no way to know for sure but it may be that I might be able to In-Th- e- Supper was ended and the evening just begun. walked out of the camp kitchen into the subdued light of a setting sun. My thought was to take an evening stroll in Dark Canyon, cleft between the upthrust mounds of Mts. Mellenthin and Peale, in the La Sal Mountains of Grand and San Juan County, Utah. It was summer, 1958. One of the other workers from camp saw me leave and decided to accompany me. 1 did not desire liar who habituhis company. He was a ally spoke demeaningly of women. He was held in high esteem by no man save himself . Not the sort of fellow I would share an evening with. 1 had not learned the gentle art of diplomacy nor was I capable of rudeness. I wondered how to get rid of him. I looked up at Mt. Peale towering in the shadows and said, "I think 111 go up there." I knew that he didn't have the gumption for that. He turned back to camp. I struck out for the summit. I climbed the west face of Dark Canyon to the ridge that joins Peale and Mellenthin. 1 walked along the sometimes knife-thi- n ridge and up to the top of Mt. Peale. Atop the peak I absorbed the view of empty desert creased with shadows, and distant mountain ranges. I did a couple of handsprings. I walked a few steps on my hands. I knelt and offered a prayer of gratitude for my life, for health and strength and mountains. It was growing dark. I started down the face. It is steep, loose and shaley. I ran down that side of the peak, jumping and sliding, like a mule deer down through the Bcree. I reached the base of the peak before full dark. It was the beginning of a love affair that has endured to the present. I have climbed Mt. Peale about 25 times over the years. I have lost track of exactly how many it has been. I have climbed with friends, with family, with kids and their mothers and fathers, and with boy scouts. I have summited all of her sister peaks. I was listening to Joe Lyman speculate that he I kiss-and-te- ll west-northwe- st po-goi- make that same claim for Mt. Peale. There is a symphony in the La Sal Mountains. You hear it first in the trees and then on the exposed rock of the great peaks. There are your own grunts and deep breathing, the timpani of your heart thudding in your ears. There is the click and rattle of loose rock under your feet. And, when you sit and your breathing and heartbeat subside and the wind lulls, the silence itself is symphonic. The symphony is hard to hear when you are with others. Being with a bunch of scouts is like wearing headphones with Mozart in one ear and some insane rapper yelping insanely in the other. I decided that I would climb the mountain alone this summer. I wanted to celebrate 40 years of climbing. I did it on Labor Day. Interestingly, even though it was a holiday, I had the peak all to myself. This old body has accumulated high mileage and doesn't perform with anywhere near the same ability as the one I had 40 years ago but I did pretty well on the peak this summer. I made it to the summit in two hour and 25 minutes without stopping to rest. I left a brief note in the mailbox embedded in the cairn at the top and started down. Descending is difficult for me. It takes most of my energy to get to the top which doesnt leave much for the hard work of getting down. I was three hours and eighteen minutes getting to the bottom. It is better to climb in June when there is snow in the gully that drops into La Sal Pass. Sliding down the snow saves literally thousands of grueling steps. Will there be another anniversary climb? On the afternoon of Labor Day, when my legs were running on empty, I would have answered emphatically, No!" But, aa I sit here thinking of the satisfying sense of accomplishment and of the magical symphony awaiting anyone willing to go and listen, I think, Sure, as long as this old body holds up. High Country News Writers on the Range Monarch butterflies have a message for the West by Susan Tweit Back in January, an unusually severe winter storm dropped heavy rain on the mountains of g Michoacan in western Mexico, followed by temperatures. For days afterward, dead monarch butterflies rained to the ground in their winter colonies. The winged corpses accumulated in piles up to a foot thick. The storm in Mexico wasnt news here until weeks later, when scientists estimated the death toll at between 220 and 270 million monarch butterflies, some 75 to 80 percent of the populations at two wintering sites. The death of hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies in the remote mountains of western Mexico comes home to North America because these are our butterflies, too. Monarch migrate between winter and summer habitats, the way some birds do. In fact, they are the only insects to venture on such migrations. Each fall, millions of North American monarchs from the Rockies to the Atlantic coast flutter south, headed for the fir forests of Michoacan. (Monarchs from west of the Rockies winter on the California coast.) These fragile insects fly as far as 3,000 miles, passing over plains, lakes and mountain ridges on wings no thicker than origami paper. In Michoacan, the butterflies congregate in dense forests, clustering on trees in layers so thick that the foliage turns orange and silver with their wings. There, the monarchs wait out winter, protected by the sheltering forest canopy. In spring, the insects head north again, mating and laying eggs along the way. The butterflies that flew south the previous year don't live to reach their summer homes, but their children and grandchildren do. The following fall, these insects descendants wing to Mexico again, aimed unerringly at a place they know only in their genes. This epic migration has enormous costa. An unknown number of butterflies die on the way, eaten by birds or other predators, broken by collisions with moving vehicles, or succumbing to exhaustion. Those that make it to Michoacan are nc4 necessarily borne safe. Heavy logging over the past few decades has decreased by more than half the forest cover of their wintering grounds. In 1986, the Mexican government set aside five areas aa monarch reserves. Logging was Dot restricted until recently. below-freezin- An unbroken forest canopy is critical to the survival of the roosting butterflies. The trees act as a giant umbrella, protecting the insects from freezing and dehydration. The monarchs that survived the storm were tucked under the thickest tree cover, or were protected by the canopy of their fellows. The death of two hundred million monarch butterflies in the remote mountains of Michoacan comes home to us in western North America because the economies of both regions increasingly rely on nature tourism. Millions of visitors come West each year, lured by our mountains and mesas, rivers and lakes, our wildflowers and wildlife. Michoacan, one of Mexico' poorest states and a large exporter of human population to the United States, has recently discovered that the spectacular concentrations of wintering monarchs bring economic opportunity at home. At the rate the forests of Michoacan were being logged, the trees would have been gone in another few decades, and the logging dollars with them. Now villagers around the monarch wintering reserves are harvesting a potentially crop: tourist dollars. , Entomologists who study the monarchs say that the species will survive the storm. But the death toll raises questions about how long the diminished forests of Michoacan can sustain wintering monarchs. Life north of the border is not necessarily easier. Monarch population are dechning across North America as pesticide overuse wipes out milkweeds, the sole home and food source for the insects caterpillar stage. The challenge for the people of Michoacan is to protect the roosting butterflies, restore their habitat and develop other sustainable sources of income. If they succeed, the residents of Michoacan could save their own culture and habitat as well. Their dilemma is not so different from ours, as we in the West work to build local economies that nurture our way of life and oar natural resources. We would do well to need the fate of the wintering monarchs of Micboscaa. Their story could be ours, too. Susan Tweit is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service of High Country Sett in Paonia, Colo, (hcn.org). She is a naturalist in Sakda, Colo, whose latest book is City Wdds. mid-Janua- more-sustainab- le mid-Janua- fOr-- - jPOOR |