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Show LAE AEPELY A) DECEMBER like it, and neither do I. What can we do? First of all, we must face the truth, and then we can change our course. We simply must have faith in each other, faith in our ability to govern ourselves, and faith in the future of this Nation. Restoring that faith and that confidence to America is now the most important task we face. It is atrue challenge of this generation of Americans. We know the strength of America. We are strong. We can regain our unity. We can regain our confidence. We are the heirs of generations who survived threats much more powerful and awesome than those that challenge us now. Our fathers and mothers were strong men and women who shaped a new society during the Great Depression, who fought world wars, and who carved out a new charter of peace for the world. Here’s the rub. The world Carter warned us about, one in which, “too many of us...worship self-indulgence and consumption,” is precisely what the world of 2008 requires to maintain the kind of ever-expanding economy that much of its population demands. 2008-JANUARY 2009 gotten those same Walmart speculation questions. Howev- er, 1 want to once again clarify that there is still no Walmart coming to San Juan County that I’m aware of and those turn lanes were not put in to accommodate any proposed big box development.” He explained that WW Clyde leases a gravel pit in Spanish Valley and was hoping for a more direct route to their pit. San Juan County and the BLM also got involved in the project. A more direct route to Ken’s Lake from US 191 would enhance fire response times. Then, according to Torgeson, “San Juan County looked at the road networks further south and determined that in addition to the new Ken’s Lake road that another route could help with their road issues. They desired another route in the southern part of Spanish Valley. This proposed southern route was identified to relieve the traffic IN THIS ISSUE OF ier ae VOLUME 20 NUMBER 5 December 2008/January 2009 4..POINT BLANK “Is Everyone a Whore?' By Doug McKay 7...ONE of SIXTY-MILLION by Cyndy Hodo onto Spanish Valley Drive coming from Pack Creek and the Loop Road.” 8...LOSING SOLITUDE "Tragic Denials" By Martin Murie Finally, Torgeson noted, “The above were the main reasons and events that led to the decisions of the roads and turn lanes. However, we will likely have future development needs in the area. They will likely take place in the medium to far term. Those future development needs have not yet been identified or proposed, but the roads could facilitate any future development needs of SITLA’s as well.” Indeed, along much of US 191, from Moab to Blanding, many SITLA sections that are adjacent to the highway, 12..REALITY CLOSES IN. Waiting for Progressive Capitulation By Doug Meyer Here’s the rub. The world Carter warned us about, one in which, “too many of us...worship self-indulgence and consumption,” is precisely what the world of 2008 requires to maintain the kind of ever-expanding economy that much of its population demands. How does Obama break the cycle of consumption? How does he persuade all of us that “what we own” is not a measure of who we are? To break that cycle will mean hard times for many of us, but only if we keep measuring happiness in dollar bills. And for the first time in human history, our consumptive habits are on the verge of dooming our very existence and every living thing on earth. The clock is ticking on climate change. Shortly after the election, Al Gore called Obama’s election “transformative,” but warned that we must, “begin an emergency rescue of human civilization from the imminent and rapidly growing threat posed by the climate crisis...To those who are still tempted to dismiss the increasingly urgent alarms from scientists around the world, ignore the melting of the north polar ice cap and all of the other apocalyptic warnings from the planet itself, and who roll their eyes at the very mention of this existen- tial threat to the future of the human species, please wake up. Our children and grandchildren need you to hear and recognize the truth of our situation, before it is too late.” I hope Obama has the courage. I know he has the intelligence, and like I said, he is indeed our last best hope. with easy access, are being developed for their residential potential. From the Lion’s Back project and Cloudrock on Johnson’s-Up-On-Top, to the top of Blue Hill, to the Wilson Arch Resort, to Flat Iron Mesa, to the ridge just north of Hatch Wash, to the Needles intersection and the area near the old Home of Truth, even to State Route 95, south of Blanding, just a half mile from its intersection. with US 191---ALL of these locations are under various degrees of development. On almost all of them, home construction to some extent is underway. Torgeson confirmed that, “Those developments that yo referenced were once Trust Land. As was a majority of the private land throughout the state.” 15... THE FBI 'FOIA' FILES OF EDWARD ABBEY 16...FROM THE SHADOWS The Art of CENSORING Climate Scientists By Scott Thompson 19... THE REEL WEST onte Wals' (the Tom Selleck version) * At press time, Obama announced plans to stop expanded oil and gas drilling on sensitive public lands in southeast Utah. At long last, it's one Bush/Cheney hand that won't get played. BUT to paraphrase Wendell Berry’s admonition, it’s more than production we need to worry about these days. Consumption is what drives production and we are all culpbable. 20...THE PROPHETS OF PLACE Excerpted from BARGAINING FOR EDEN: The Fight for the Last Open Spaces in America. By STEPHEN TRIMBLE SITLA LOOKS AHEAD Last summer, road work at the far south end of Spanish Valley, in San Juan County puzzled me for months. Two major intersections were under construction, about a mile apart, complete with turning lanes and fresh striping. But the new roads went nowhere; the pavement traveled ex- 22...FROM THE CRAWSPACE Notes from the Desk of Whether the SITLA lands in Spanish Valley are developed to their full potential depends on many factors but, according to Torgeson, “What I can say is that all of the SITLA properties located in the Spanish Valley Area are designated for future development.” He noted that the current economic downturn could mean that full development is in the distant future. Is there any opposition to this longterm plan to exurbanize the rural lands of Southeast Utah into a web of ranchettes? OF HISTORY NED MUDD 25...THE ZEPHYR BACKBONE 28...Herb Ringer's AMERICAN One Last Look at Moab... WEST 30...FEEDBACK The Readers Respond The Utah Recreational Land Exchange Act of 2007, sponsored by Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) and Sen. Bob Bennett actly 50 yards east to the highway right-of-way fence and stopped. Other than a vague double dozer track on the other side of one of them, leading into the pinyon-juniper, I could see no plan to proceed further. Then it occurred to’ me—these were Utah State Institutional Trust Lands and I wondered what SITLA was up to now. I'd heard some speculation that the two new road intersections might have something to do with the never ending rumor that Wal-Mart planned to build on San Juan County SITLA lands. They’d make excellent Wal-Mart entrances for north and south-bound traffic. But Bryan Torgeson of SITLA dismissed the rumor. “I’ve (R-UT) stalled in both houses of Congress this year and awaits action in 2009. The legislation “protects valuable conservation lands along the Colorado River corridor near Moab by exchanging them with lands that are more suitable for development and may be used to benefit Utah’s school children.” The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance notes that, “Throughout Utah, state parcels lie within or adjacent to areas proposed for wilderness in America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, threatening the long-term protection of those areas. This bill places those lands in federal ownership in continued on page 5... 31...A LETTER ABOUT THE ZEPHYR from the GRAND CANYON TRUST |