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Show THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER the possible impacts and BLM's planned (flawed or not) was to read the EA. For. better or worse, mitigating environmentalists have an measures adversarial relationship with government land agencies. BLM is not going to travel beyond the call of duty to keep us informed. They’re going to ce ae — re ou to do—they posted the EA on their web d. And I know a in the past, ieee the web bulletin 7 was oe aritual at SUWA. But still, I'm encouraged | to note, despite the delay, that a couple people from tk taken notice of the impacts froma non-motorized recreational event. I look forward to their increased participation in the future. WELCOME TO MOAB, MR. BONDERMAN... Moab is about to get a new neighbor. Not long ago, I was driving down Fourth North, past the hospital and was surprised to see a crew planting pine trees along the fence line. Not a couple of trees. Or ten. And not little seedlings either. These were mature thirty foot pines and there were hundreds of them. Later I learned the number of transplanted trees, including pines and fruit trees, was closer to a thousand and that the cost of moving them was about a million dollars. And since pines aren’t native to Moab and don’t exactly thrive in its blistering heat, a couple of local truck drivers now have almost permanent jobs hauling water to keep them alive. The man with the trees is David Bonderman, one of the wealthiest men in America. Bonderman founded the Texas Pacific Group, a private equity firm based in Fort Worth. According to FORTUNE Hebe nS “through investment Permiersups, TPG invests primarily nd buyouts in the United States, Ce and Western Europe. TPG's affiliates make similar investments past and in Latin America, present East Asia and portfolio of TPG and Eastern Europe. The its principals include: Continental Airlines, America West Airlines, Beringer Wine Estates, J. Crew, Del Monte, Ducati Motorcycles, Globespan Technologies, and ON Semiconductor. He recently acquired Burger King and Gate Gourmet, an airline catering company. BONDERMAN lives the kind of life one might expect from a man worth $6 billion. His 14,000 square foot, 11 bedroom home in Aspen, Colorado sits on 900 acres, but he spends much of his time flying... in his Gulfstream GV jet. (But) GRAND CANYON TRUST president CHARLES WILKINSON told FORTUNE magazine, "He's one of the country's greatest CONSERVATIONISTS right now." Bonderman’s worth is estimated at $6 billion. FORTUNE claims that in the world of private equity firms, “David Bonderman is as dominant as they come. He has earned a reputation as a master dealmaker, a tornado of a man spinning equal parts brilliance, energy, and charm inside his ever-moving vortex...Bonderman's high-profile deals have given him a mystique. He's the man who can close the sale, and his secretive style only feeds his aura. People may not see how he does it, but they see the results. The stealth isn't just a matter of personal preference. Bonderman has learned it's much easier to conduct business far from the prying eyes of the media, stock analysts, and the public.” Bonderman lives the kind of life one might expect from a man 2006 But David Bonderman will tell you that he is an environmentalist, if donating a relatively small portion of a $6 billion fortune can make anyone an environmentalist. He has served on the boards of the Grand Canyon Trust, the Wilderness Society and the World Wildlife Fund for years. Grand Canyon Trust president Charles Wilkinson told FORTUNE that, “He's one of the country’s greatest conservationists right now.” Now in 2006, David Bonderman has come to Moab and unofficially, he has floated the possibility of providing land to the city at his cost, should it choose to increase the capacity of the city’s water treatment plant. The plant is adjacent to his property and increasing the capacity would possibly decrease the odor.. In other words, David Bonderman is the man who could allow Moab to grow even more, just to spare offending his nostrils. Just what Moab needs, So welcome, Mr. Bonderman. A big Moab “Hello HOWDY!” There’s always room for one more simple man of the land, here in red rock country. A living role model for all of us environmentalists. ON THE OTHER HAND... If there is an upside to Mr. Bonderman’s most recent acquisition, it’s the fact that he apparently has no intention of sub-dividing or developing his land, other than perhaps adding another 10,000 square foot palace to his domain and, of course, all those pine trees that only grow naturally above 8000 feet. The land will look like a park, the traffic on 400 North will stay relatively quiet and adjacent land owners are surely breathing a collective sigh of relief to know they've dodged a condo bullet. If I actually lived near Bonderman’s property, I'd love the man. _ Almost ten years ago, former Zephyr contributor Anne Wilson wrote a futuristic account of Grand County and how incredible wealth could save part of it. She fantasized that Bill Gates came to Robbie Levin's lodge, fell madly in love with the gorgeous scenery and could not bear the thought of massive tourist and residential development. So Gates donated a large sum of money to Utah Open Lands to buy the Sorrel River Ranch development rights. According to Anne’s vision: “His generosity did not end there, but radiated out to work a deal with the owner of the adjoining property....significant additional acreage in the Colorado River corridor was preserved from development. Gates of Heaven Preserve was born. Gates also set up a county endowment for the purchase of conservation and development easements from interested land owners throughout Grand County....The County rejoiced.” In 2006, very little green space survives in Moab itself. We used to take for granted all the small alfalfa fields and horse pastures and open space along the creek bottoms. Now they’re about gone and no one but the very wealthy can afford to buy them. So we can only hope that when someone with the financial means comes along, he/she considers leaving the land alone or perhaps donates it to the city as a park. That kind of Becerostly will be remembered far longer than yet another faux adob Here’s hoping for anoles Jennifer Speers Miracle and from someone besides Jennifer...she’s done more than her share already. We can only hope that when someone with the financial means comes along, he/she considers leaving the land alone or perhaps donates it to the city as a park. IN THIS ISSUE OF THE ZEPHYR VOLUME 18 NUMBER 2 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2006 4...POINTBLANK: "Ego Climbing" & the American Land Ethic By Sara Porterfield 7...1HE BULLETIN BOARD of DOOM! Climate change and China's pollution...angry elephants... there ain't no solution!!! 8...LOSING SOLITUDE By Martin Murie 12...An Interview with JOHN DEPUY The great Southwest expressionist talks about Art, Ed Abbey, and the Road less traveled... 16...The WORLD of DEPUY His paintings, his family, his history and his home at the edge of the world... 18...HARD TIMES in SANTA FE By Edward Abbey A re-print of Abbey's last story, printed in the first Zephyr... A tale of woe with Abbey & Depuy worth $6 billion. His 14,000 square foot, 11 bedroom home in Aspen, Colorado sits on 900 acres, but he spends much of his time flying around the world at 30,000 feet in his Gulfstream GV jet. When he turned 60, a couple years ago, Bonderman decided to do something nice for himself. He threw a party. He invited four or five hundred guests to the Bellagio and Hard Rock Café in Las Vegas. He hired John Mellencamp and Robin Williams at a cool million each to warm up the crowd and then brought in a little band called The Rolling Stones for the main event, for just $7 million more. The entire evening exceeded $10 million. According to Robert Trigaux of the St. Petersburg Times, “That's chump change for Bonderman. And according to a web site called www.iorrorg , Bonderman was concerned that his guests, as they moved from the concert hall to the VIP lounge, might be offended passing through the casino with the general public. So he built a special staircase to bypass the masses. Bonderman is not exactly a beloved figure to the working class. Socialists hate him. When Texas Pacific Group bought the airline catering company Gate Gourmet in 2002, he hired former Enron vice president Cedric Burgher to tighten the operation. Fired workers released this Open Letter: On Wednesday, August 10th, 2005, Gate Gourmet sacked 800 workers employed at Heathrow. Fellow workers reporting for duty on Thursday 11th August 2005 were faced with the ultimatum of signing a new contract which id face the sack, As catering assistants we arepaid £E12,000 ($21,600 US) a year. As drivers we are paid less than ££16,000 ($26, 800US) per year. These are very low wages by any standards, but especially in one of the most expensive cities in the world. Yet Gate Gourmet is seeking to push them even lower and us even closer to poverty. At the same time, the Gate Gourmet management team awarded themselves hefty pay rises. According to SchNews, a liberal non-profit organization in Great Britain, dedicated to defending the working class, “Texas Pacific, (is) a US venture capitalist firm f with a Teputation for buying companies cheap when they’ ts, and flogging them on for a quick profit. How do you cut costs? By sacking workers, cere jobs, increasing workload...... are you starting to see a theme here Someone noted “ the annual savings from the firing of those 800 low wage employees at Gate Gourmet was about what Bonderman’s birthday extravaganza cost. FINALLY...et tu WAL-MART? Rumors of an impending Wal-Mart deal were flying on all frequencies recently. According to news reports, the super retailer is talking to the State Institutional Trust Lands people about property in Spanish Valley, across the county line in neighboring » San Juan. Grand County and Moab officials are freaking out because they see a potential massive drain of their tax base. The idea that they might have to court Wal-Mart, whether they want it or not, sounds like a distinct possibility. But is Wal-Mart really serious or just posturing a bit? Most small town Wal-Marts need satellite communities to make their operation profitable. Monticelloites go to Cortez for their Wal-Mart fix. Green River folks head to Price. It means Wal-Mart has to depend on tourists and recently arrived Moab rich weasels to make it happen. But most of our wealthy class abhor Wal-Mart...they might order Italian marble for their new toilets in their showcase homes, but god help them if they’d be seen inside a Super Center. So before we get too excited, let’s see what these people really have up their sleeves...and I might watch SITLA more closely than the Wal-Mart dealers. Truth is, I’d watch BOTH with a very clear eye. GOODBYE TO MY HAND WAXER? If all goes according to plan, and when has my life ever been anything but ‘by the book,’ this will be the last issue of The Zephyr to be assembled by hand. For 17 plus years, I have done layouts the old fashioned way. In truth, the old fashioned way was the standard way when I started, but since I cling hopelessly to the past, not only have I refused to switch to on-screen layouts, I didn’t even know it was an option. Until last winter. My friends at the Tooele Transcript asked if I might consider switching to something like InDesign—I was almost the last hand waxing holdout, they explained, and while they would continue to humor me for the foreseeable future, sooner or later they were sure I might want to embrace Reality. I broke down and bought the InDesign software and for the last couple of months, have been trying to learn how to use the damn thing. Supposedly, I will take my headlong leap into cyber layouts with the October/November issue. Please be patient with me and let’s hope for the best. 20...FROM the CRAWLSPACE of HISTORY An OPEN LETTER to "Wired" Magazine By Ned Mudd 27...1HE ZEPHYR BACKBONE 28...FEEDBACK: |