Monroe Mountain Scofflaws

Perhaps you've noticed? Used to be you'd hear coyotes nearly everywhere. But they're growing increasingly scarce. Ranchers, running livestock on public lands, have convinced the federal agencies to utilize rodenticides to rid the land of mice and other small animals that eat seeds and plants. They claim the "pests" eat the forage meant for the livestock. As the rodents die off, so do the coyotes, raptors and reptiles. Basically, the ecosystem collapses.

Charged with managing our public lands, the BLM sometimes encounters folks who think the land ISN'T public. They, the "rightful owners," use their idea to justify the abuse of it. Below is an article from the 29, November, 2019 issue of The Deseret News (Salt Lake City).

Lawsuit: Guns, threats and illegal grazing at Utah’s Monroe Mountain

Conservation organization alleges U.S. Forest Service is facing intimidation by cattle ranchers

• By Amy Joi O'Donoghue 
• on November 29, 2019 2:00 pm

  

Adobe Stock

SALT LAKE CITY — A lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service alleges renegade cattle ranchers are intimidating the federal agency to allow illegal grazing on Monroe Mountain with threats of violence, arrests of federal employees, and calling in a militia called the “Oath Keepers.”

The complaint in U.S. District Court for Utah was filed in late November by the conservation organization Western Watersheds Project, asking the court to rescind grazing allotments against a trio of ranching groups the group says is causing environmental damage on Monroe Mountain in Fishlake National Forest.

The mountain is in Sevier and Piute counties and includes sensitive habitat for the imperiled greater sage grouse, critical aquatic species, and groves of Aspen clones that are suffering from excessive and illegal grazing, according to the 57-page complaint.

Specifically, the lawsuit targets the temporary grazing permits issued for the Kingston, Forshea and Manning Creek allotments.

“To placate a handful of bad actors, the (Forest Service) has bent and broken its own laws and regulations and continues to authorize livestock grazing without any reasonable expectation of permit compliance,” the suit states.

It goes on to emphasize that the “specter of violence is not a valid excuse for the (Forest Service) to abdicate its role as trustee of National Forest Service lands on behalf of all Americans.”

Ranchers have repeatedly violated the terms of their grazing permits for years and called the federal agency’s regulations “silly rules” that don’t require adherence, the suit says.

In 2015, the agency received a tip that one of ranchers was “calling in the militia” known as the Oath Keepers, which was involved in conflicts involving Cliven Bundy’s notorious fight with federal agencies over grazing in Nevada, the suit states.

Bundy’s defiance of the federal government for two decades over his cattle led to a 2014 standoff with armed federal agencies and stoked an outcry of support among some anti-federal government sympathizers angry at regulations they assert are choking livestock ranchers out of business.

Bundy contended the federal lands in Nevada are not owned by the U.S. government, but by the state.

This lawsuit claims these Utah ranchers, like Bundy, don’t recognize the authority of the federal government and have snubbed grazing requirements for years.

One rancher, it says, told the U.S. Forest Service he had the backing of the local sheriff’s office and, at one point in this protracted dispute, a threatened arrest of the local ranger supervisor influenced grazing permit decisions.

The suit also contends that state agencies have been kowtowing to the renegade ranchers for fear of a Bundy-style confrontation at Monroe Mountain.

Western Watersheds Project has repeatedly sought detailed explanations and justification from the U.S. Forest Service over renewal of these temporary permits, but the agency has not sufficiently detailed the basis for issuing permits in the face of yearslong noncompliance, the lawsuit asserts.

“When the Forest Service tried to do the right thing and suspend these livestock grazing permits for multiple willful violations of the terms and conditions, the ranchers responded with threats of violence,” said John Persell, staff attorney with Western Watersheds Project. “That’s an ugly ultimatum, and it’s unfortunate that the Forest Service has to deal with these folks. But it’s unfair to the Americans who own these public lands to let them be continually degraded by scofflaws.”

According to its website, Western Watersheds Project targets what it says is the harmful effects of livestock grazing on public lands in the West.

The Forest Service could not be reached for comment.

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© 2019 Deseret News Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Ojito Wilderness - New Mexico

The area is popular with shootists

These kinds of pictures look dull and boring, but there are places where the topography varies more. I was drawn to the contrast in color & textures in this small bit of "badland."

But it takes determination (mindfulness!) to ignore the unbelievable devastation from over-grazing (BLM public lands "management").

One the cows missed. Note orange flower.

The area is rife with gypsum (CaSO₄·2H₂O). There's a large mine less than a mile from highway 550. 

The mineral appears throughout the area in various forms.

Renowned for the mountain-bike trails, there are also a couple of nicely-graveled parking lots with pit toilets and bear-resistant garbage cans. The sign, topped with two video cameras, is, you can be sure, the BLM's attempt at beneficent "inclusiveness" aimed at exhibitionists.

The Schvoog lost one of his spats on the Comb Wash road (Utah) several weeks ago. Another fell off when we crossed the railroad tracks enroute to the Holiday Market in The Railyard. They were the plastic, $25.00-a-set ones from Walmart and all were cracked from, I think, being whacked by the boys at the tire shop when getting their rotations. The abandoners provoked elimination of the hangers-on. Now The Schvoog can feel some sense of "conformity" in his (currently fashionable) low-brow look. But I'm thinking maybe a wrap of Tabby Stripes or Leopard spots would add a nice bit of distinction.

Something like....?

Addendum:

(Anderson:) I was carrying a lot of electronics (link to Wiki article) so I had to keep unpacking everything and plugging it in and demonstrating how it all worked, and I guess I did seem a little fishy—a lot of this stuff wakes up displaying LED program readouts that have names like Atom Smasher, and so it took a while to convince them that they weren't some kind of portable espionage system. So I've done quite a few of these sort of impromptu new music concerts for small groups of detectives and customs agents and I'd have to keep setting all this stuff up and they'd listen for a while and they'd say: So uh, what's this? And I'd pull out something like (Bergamot:) this filter, and say, now this is what I like to think of as the voice of authority. And it would take me a while to tell them how I used it for songs that were, you know, about various forms of control, and they would say, now why would you want to talk like that? And I'd look around at the SWAT teams, and the undercover agents, and the dogs, and the radio in the corner, tuned to the Super Bowl coverage of the war. And I'd say, take a wild guess.


Anderson's website.

Landfall track listing with excerpts.

Solstice Tree and Lights

We're usually several days, if not weeks, behind. ("Better eventually than never." is what they say.)

There's a guy who brings a bunch of trees from Mora and sells them from his yard near the Nature Center. Each year, as our stamina wanes, the tree gets smaller...and with fewer decorations. This year we settled for just lights.

Bonsai, the cat, cogitating on whether it would look better in a horizontal position on the floor.

Location shot...

With the lights turned down...

The Frontier Restaurant - Albuquerque

Along with Turkey Day, this day often inspires thots of gratitude. The folks who've owned and operated The Frontier Restaurant for over 40 years come to mind.

Please let me know if you know who took this photo so I can give credit. 

In addition to several of the other buildings nearby, they also own & operate three or four Golden Pride chicken and burrito places.


It's on Central Avenue across from the University and is the hub; every University student, likely every politician, and even one world-renowned movie mogul (Michelle and I took her there) has, at one time or another, eaten at The Frontier.

They, along with the owner of Saggio's Pizza (across the street) kept an artist employed for several years painting murals on the outside of the buildings (and the inside of Saggio's).

Their social consciousness includes the food and packaging. Signs attesting to the Certifiedly Humane source for the chicken recently appeared near the door at the Golden Pride locations. A couple of days ago I got a burrito and noticed the bag.

Sustainable Forestry Initiative

While all the above is well and good, there's more. Over 20 years ago a woman three blocks over who ran a used bookstore was gonna have to close when her rent went up. I happened to be on the Central Avenue Business Development Committee at the time so was privy to the action. The Frontier folks  offered her, at a reduced rate, a building they owned a few doors down from the restaurant. She's still there.

There's a rumor the two head cooks, who've been there for decades, are paid somewhere over $100k/year.


They were a couple. I haven't seen the woman in several years, but she used to stand at the pickup counter (where you get your food when it's ready) and give a rose to everyone on Valentine's and Mothers' Days. The man still works behind the counter...alongside all the others.

The food is excellent and reasonably priced. It's the hub of The Universe and in spite of all my disparaging remarks about the town, it sets the standard for quality and kindness and what I like to think all of us, at this time of year aspire to.

M E R R Y     C H R I S T M A S

Once More For Olde Time's Sayk

Birthday Song. (67)

(I was born around 6:00 a.m. The doctor was called from a party, but he had, my mother said, a wonderful sense of humor and they had a great time.)

And then there's this...

Prince "lifts off" at 3:28

But the "overture" is nice too

Jeff Lynne (at left with beard, cap and sunglasses)

Tom Petty (Blonde in purple shirt)

Dhani Harrison (only child of George & Olivia Harrison) on Petty's left.

Pilates, Ballroom Dance, Swimming

While awaiting the completion of Phoebe's engine rebuild (transmission is done), I've sought activities to entertain. Mondays & Wednesdays there's a hybrid Pilates-yoga and on Tuesdays there's ballroom dance...both at a nearby community center. Swimming is available at various times throughout the week.

The starfish was a gift from Aunt Ree-Ree (photo below) when I was three...a memento of her trip to Hawaii.

The parrot is one of a pair that hung in Michelle's grandparents home. The walking stick is a new acquisition from Allegheny Mountain Walking Sticks. The display case holds a lifetime of treasures.

Michelle has been redecorating....new faux-wood flooring, paint and patterns on the walls. It's lookin' downright homey.

Solstice Celebration - Rope Cuffs

As we turn the corner toward a new year, herewith enjoy my contribution to "long-life learning."

Freakin' Youtube! Here's the URL: 

https://youtu.be/DuJxA1FCbis

Foggers - All

The details have passed into oblivion. It may have been late summer, "Indian Summer" in 2012, driving Eggbert, I was southbound through the plains of southern Idaho, or maybe Washington (I was reading Bateson), when the cynicism took a creative turn...

The Continent

Churmin !

Killin' !

Dawgs

Austrian Swing Dancers - Jive Nellia & Dietmar

Der ballroom dance group meets vunce a veek at der community center. Besides zeee teacher, der ist only vun uzzer guy, from Acoma Pueblo. In udder vurdz, Vee habben sie frauleins to OURSELVES!

They're a fun bunch. One was born in Nürnberg and immigrated in '55. I teased her saying, "See? You CAN follow."

Nellia & Dietmar are my new super-stars.

Interestingly Attired Audience

link to short article about them

More Casual Gathering

Bears Ears National Monument - Southeast Utah

SUBMIT COMMENTS !!!!! (see link in article)


15.Jan.2023 - The link below to Friends of Cedar Mesa appears to be defunct. The one beneath it, to my letter, still works. 

https://www.friendsofcedarmesa.org/defendbearsears/



Here's a letter I sent to the Monticello (Utah) BLM supervisor the other day.

Commodes

She thinks it was January of 2010 that she went for chemo.

Near the end of my five-year plan for my B.A. in Geography I took a class in American Studies. It required a paper. Unsure of a thesis, I took a bunch of photos of urinals and commodes from around campus. A couple of days before the paper was due I decided to, instead, draw analogies between Uncle Remus's tar-baby and the existential dilemma.

But out of the first attempt came a still-extant interest in the aesthetics of urinals and commodes. Here're the ones on the Cancer Center's 3rd floor GENERAL WAITING AREA.

WATERLESS
(it jus' slyyyyyds down the hole)

Please note the ethereal light from above. It's no-doubt meant to inspire if you're terminal...and on acid.

Her numbers are good. She's free & clear.  HUUUURRRAAAYYY!!!!!

THEN...

we went to the storage locker to bring home her mom's commode. 

It fit in the FIT.

That cottonwood cheerily waving in the background is a youngster of about 55 years. 

A few DAys More Than a MONTH

...since I returned from the Bluff Arts Festival. 

I'll have to check my journal to see how long I took getting there and back.

My entry for November 12, says I arrived ABQ Nov 9.

I talked to Daniel (at By the Book) about ten days ago....no word on when the trans and engine rebuilds would be done.

Michelle's sciatica has abated.

She has her 6-month Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) followup tomorrow with Dr. Quintana.

You CAN make a Difference - WWP & Advocates For the West

I met Karen in 2011 when she was enroute to assess the condition of a grazing alottment for Western Watersheds Project. Having traveled throughout the west and seen the devastation I was skeptical of her efforts. Since then I've seen what she, Western Watersheds Project (WWP), Advocates for the West and other "grassroots" organizations can accomplish.

And I've also heard and seen, in reports & first hand, of the increasing awareness in the BLM and National Forest personnel of the expanding interest in habitat among the common folk. But, as the article below shows, old habits die hard.

PLEASE take a moment to email anyone and everyone you think might give a damn. This could include...

your congress-people

your state representatives including your governor. I often mention the global economy.
See: https://newmexnomad.blogspot.com/2018/08/lizzies-basin-east-humboldt-wilderness.html

your game commissioners

the local BLM and/or Natl forest supervisor

the local mayor.


And for godz sake SEND MONEY. Even $20.00 helps.
(I DID. And if I can, you Shirley can!)


Donate HERE to WWP. There's a DONATE button in the upper right of each page.


Donate HERE to Advocates For the West.

The link below goes to the article below the link.

https://www.westernwatersheds.org/2019/12/feds-sued-for-resuscitating-zombie-grazing-permit-putting-restoration-efforts-at-risk/

Feds Sued for Resuscitating Zombie Grazing Permit, Putting Restoration Efforts at Risk

For Immediate Release ~ December 4, 2019

 Contact:

Cyndi Tuell, Western Watersheds Project, 520-272-2454, cyndi@westernwatersheds.org

TUCSON, Ariz.—Today, Western Watersheds Project sued the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for illegally issuing a grazing permit on public lands that had been off limits to livestock use for nearly thirty years. The Badger Den allotment just north of Bowie, Arizona in the San Simon Valley, is located in an area severely degraded by historic overgrazing. It is also the site of several restoration projects, including what is known as the Sands Draw Exclosure, which could one day be home to native fish such as the Gila chub. The BLM’s decision to resurrect this long-dead grazing permit neglected to follow the agency’s own rules and kept the decision from the public until nearly a year after that decision was signed.

“Cattle haven’t been allowed here for decades, yet this area is absolutely hammered by livestock,” said attorney Cyndi Tuell, Western Watersheds Project’s Arizona and New Mexico Director. “The failure of the BLM to follow the law or recognize the slow recovery time of southwestern desert ecosystems is unbelievable, especially given the tremendous effort the agency has spent to restore small pieces of these damaged public lands.”

The Badger Den allotment has a long history of controversy and after repeated instances of willful trespass and a lengthy court process, the permit was canceled by the BLM in 1991. The previous permittee locked gates to public lands, refused to remove his livestock as required by his permit, and was eventually held in contempt of court for failing to refusing to recognize the federal government’s authority to manage livestock use on federal public lands.

In 2018, the BLM used an expedited process to authorize the transfer of the cancelled permit. This fast-tracked process did not allow for public involvement, ignored the ecological importance of this area and the potential impacts to ongoing restoration projects, and failed to account for the fact this allotment had been subject to ongoing trespass and unauthorized use since 1991. The BLM also failed to even notify the public of the permit renewal, in violation of the law.

“The BLM did the right thing when it stood up to the previous scofflaw rancher by canceling the grazing permit in the 1990s after repeated violations the terms of that permit,” said Tuell. “The agency itself is the scofflaw now, by renewing this zombie permit, ignoring public interests, overlooking environmental impacts, and failing to acknowledge the egregious history of overuse.”

A copy of the complaint filed today can be found here.

###

The mission of Western Watersheds Project (www.westernwatersheds.org) is to protect and restore western watersheds and wildlife through education, public policy initiatives, and legal advocacy.

I've been in the San Simon (Arizona) area. It's being turned into a massive pecan orchard. They're pumping MILLIONS of gallons of water into a landscape of creosote and catclaw -- the aftermath of decades of overgrazing. The transpiration contributes to "regional haze," and the high, thin layer of clouds that now covers the entire Southwest; it also contributes to the occlusion at Grand Canyon. I'd like to see herds of javalinas, antelope and badgers running rampant rather than pecans and livestock. Maybe you would too?

And I Go Where the Waters Are Deep

Ist Truh-di-shun! YAH!!

Mid-winter!

I know...I know. Winter doesn't OFFICIALLY even START until later this month. But as a dyed-in-the-wool cold wuss, it began for me in mid-October when I had to put on pants as soon as I went outside. For ME, perhaps like the groundhog, it's now mid-winter.

Belle Starr & Jesse James Krahenbuhl

A few months ago one of Michelle's clients died leaving two elderly cats, Belle Starr & Jesse James. There was no one to care for them so she brought them home.

Over the years we've lost several cats. My Sophie, at age 22, went in her sleep, but we learned to know when it's time. The thing is, it's never gotten any easier.

Around the first of November Belle took a turn for the worse. Thin and frail, she suddenly began limping. Michelle called the mobile vet who diagnosed inoperable bone cancer. The associative surmisal was she was undoubtedly in a lot of pain. Michelle only waited a couple of days to have her put to sleep. I was in Utah.

Jesse's been on thyroid for years but never much cared for the daily smear of ear goo that carried the medication. He particularly disliked the blood pressure pill and had, over the past couple of weeks, let it be known he'd "had enough."

When Michelle noticed he seemed to be having trouble breathing, she had the vet swing by ($251.00). He was accumulating fluid in his lungs and they'd need to be drained regularly for him to remain comfortable. Three days ago he stopped eating and withdrew to a hidey-hole in the former office. His breathing was labored and we could hear the congestion. It was time. Michele (One El) came too. She'd met Belle & Jesse years ago when helping Double El with her new business. She'd also assisted at Belle's crossover.

Jesse & Belle

In the short time I knew him we'd formed a close bond. He slept on the tower next to my bed. In the evening I'd announce "Story Time!" from Michelle's room and a few minutes later he'd settle at the foot of the bed. (The tradition of reading to each other before sleep began decades ago in an ineffectual attempt to interest Double El in illustration work. We still enjoy looking at the pictures.)

He wasn't much given to displays of affection, but every now and then, around 4:00 a.m., he'd tickle my nose with his whiskers to prompt me to lightly scritch his chest and under his chin for a couple of minutes. Once in a while he'd rest the side of his face against my hand.

The doc sat on the couch and used the catheter they'd inserted earlier. The sedative was quick and his body relaxed. Then...the final dose; his light dimmed and winked out. He removed the catheter, gathered the used tape; we thanked him and he left. We sat on as the twitches faded.

The thing is....it never gets any easier.

Tango Flashmob - For Robert Duvall

Lifted from Duvall's wiki bio: He directed Assassination Tango (2002), a thriller about one of his favorite hobbies, tango...



Notice their eyes; isn't it wonderful to see so much love?

Budapest

Ballroom Dance - Rumba

Phoebe's engine and transmission rebuilds are forcing me to seek cultural inspiration. Yesterday I found it at The Holiday Park Community Center's Ballroom Dance class; the subject was rumba. I lasted 35 minutes before becoming overwhelmed but there's a practice class on Thursday evenings. And with the new hardwood floors in our living room and kitchen, we have the perfect surface.

Here's an exotic interpretation by World Champions Elena Khvorova and Slavik Kryklyvyy

Birthday Sculpture

Celebrating Michelle's 63rd birthday at Los Quates. We always eat in the bar where it's quieter. There's a brace of sculptures that provide refreshing incongruity amidst the traditional New Mexican decor.

I'm watching my weight climb the way I'd always hoped the stock market would. Doing naught but driving from cat-sit to cat-sit now has me at a full 245. I hit 248 last time I was here.

Hefting 6-gallon jugs of water in and out of Phoebe along with loading and unloading the rest of the "gear" each morning and evening combined with a pleasant amble was, in the wilds, enough to keep it from climbing; anything more and it would drop.

But the last two years I've seen a decrease in stamina and a corresponding increase in dimensionality. Now, I console myself that I'm helping Ms. Cook -- her sciatica is getting better -- but there's a corresponding recognition that the urban lifestyle is, for me, just plain deadly....and the women don't even glance anymore.

But then I get all optimistic and think, "Hey, I'm, 67, I probably won't last much longer."

Twidget Truck - Albuquerque

Those of you who've read of Michelle and her brother's early-childhood nomenclature


(see:   https://newmexnomad.blogspot.com/2019/03/twidget-aisle.html   )


 for cat parts will recognize the iconic logo and its significance.

One has to take one's thrills where one can when driving (what else is there to do?!) in the barrens of an urban wasteland.


Actually, upon closer scrutiny, what you're looking at is a remarkable photo. The horizontal line above the dark gray at the left side is the escarpment that marks the boundary of the lava flow from three fumeroles on the west side of the Rio Grande rift. That dark lump in the middle ground that looks sort of like a basking walrus is one of the vents. In the far distance (60 miles) is the hump of Mt. Taylor, one of the four major geographic markers (the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff are the western) that delineate the boundaries of the native peoples' "area" who lived here for thousands of years before the White's arrived.