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Show An Open Letter To GSENM Manager Kate Cannon In light of the facts, as I perceive per-ceive them to be, I hereby formally protest and challenge the allegations as set forth in the trespass notice on Lake Allotment that I received on the 13th of October 2000. Regulation CFR 4140.1 (b) (1) (iii) refers to "...livestock or other privately owned or controlled animals..." and the BLM has not identified nor verified to me the number of cattle controlledowned by myself on the Lake Allotment after Sept., 2000. I was deceived by the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Mon-ument administration into thinking that if I worked with them and made a good-faith effort to remove my cattle from my allotment that they in turn would accept that effort as long as I kept them notified of my progress. I regularly updated the GSENM as to my progress and general estimates of cattle as they were taken off the Lake Allotment, along with the difficulties I met in getting the animals to town. Now I find that the BLM's whole masquerade was to trick me into revealing numbers of cattle removed given in telephone conversations so they could assess me trespass fees. find this totally unethical. I am said to have "willfully" allowed cattle to graze on the Lake Allotment outside the authorized season. I find this to be slanderous. My family and friends can testify of the many days and nights I have spent in trying to comply with GSENM requests. I have 'never stopped in my effort to remove my catde from the Lake Allotment except for rain, mechanical breakdowns, and a serious illness in I my family. I have also not been allowed to remove cattle in the most efficient way. I've been forced to remove cattle in a more time-consuming method taking extra days to drive cattle to the nearest transportation site off my allotment and then more days hauling them to town. In an early telephone conversation conver-sation and in a follow-up letter dated August 28, I advised the GSENM administration in detail what time consuming steps had to be taken in bringing the cattle off the allotment and getting them to sale at auction. I do not have a place to hold them for however how long those arrangements take, no do I have the feed to take care of them. These factors alone have caused me considerable con-siderable time an expense and seem to be of no concern to the agency. Instead, the GSENM administrators seem only interested in their mandate man-date being met and are adding to the already traumatic and expensive situation. I have letters from men who have owned cattle or ridden on the Fifty-Mile Mountain who have validated va-lidated the extra days needed in removing re-moving cattle from the mountain. The BLM lacks this expertise in making critical decisions. The Fifty Mile Mountain is more difficult because its very nature na-ture is remote and lacks common amenities such as roads, corrals, and adequate fencing. I have not even been allowed the common courtesies cour-tesies of temporary holding corrals that could easily be removed after cattle have been gathered. Without (See LETTERS on Page 5-A) 1 LETTERS FROM PAGE 2-A these temporary corrals, one or two head of cattle have to be driven as long as two to four hours to reach the only functional corral on the allotment. Such amenities would have greatly reduced the time in removing cattle. I have repeatedly requested these needed helps in years past, yet the BLM has denied me these accepted tools of managing cattle. There is a perception by ranchers ran-chers here and in neighboring counties and state which have been following these actions by the GSENM that I am the first to go down, and it is a strong indication of the BLM's stand on grazing as a whole in the West. The BLM's method and determination deter-mination of a trespass, testifies of the difficulties of which I speak. Instead of riding horse-back as I do, and counting the cattle in trespass, they have tried to use outside information. The BLM has spent an excessive amount of money for helicopter and airplane flyovers, which at best are woefully inadequate inade-quate and inaccurate. With these facts in mind, I would like to go on record as protesting the trespass charges as stated in your Oct. 1 1, 2000 letter. Sincerely Quinn Griffin Escalante Permittee |