Trail Ride to Challenge Federal Control of Utah Land.

[elleng]

Source: nyt/reuters

Activists seeking to directly challenge federal control of swathes of territory in the U.S. West plan to embark on an all-terrain vehicle ride on Saturday across protected land in Utah that is home to Native American artifacts and where such journeys are banned.

The ride into Recapture Canyon, which comes amid heightened political tensions, is aimed to protest against indecision by federal land managers on whether to reopen canyon trails to recreational vehicle use after more than seven years of study.

The dispute is the latest squabble between conservative state's rights advocates in Utah and across the West, who want to take back millions of acres of public land over which federal agencies have authority. In Utah, more than 60 percent of all public land is under federal control.

"After seven years, it's become apparent that they are not earnest in doing what they said they were going to do," San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman, who is organizing the ride, told Reuters, adding he was aware he could be arrested or cited for encroaching closed areas in violation of federal rules.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2014/05/10/us/10reuters-usa-utah-showdown.html?hp

[villager]

1. Thank God it's not an "Occupy" ride or they'd all be shot!

As it is, I'm sure the Feds will "stand down" in this case....

[951-Riverside]

26. They have no problem tear gassing and beating the shit out of Anti War Vets, Occupiers...

...immigrant rights activists, pot smokers, police brutality protesters and college students but they go out of their way to appease heavily armed racist right wing thugs and let them set up their own checkpoints, chase media off public land and even talk about using "reasonable cause" to pull people over.

This is what happens when you try dancing at the US Capitol in a public area

Shameful

[christx30]

37. I was just picturing that pepper spray cop

trying that against a bunch of armed militia people. Guns make people like that far more polite. Cops like that are bullies and cowards. They will only go after the weak and vulnerable.
Do you think Anthony Bologna would have sprayed that woman if there were 5 guys with rifles standing behind her?

[pinto]

2. Ah geez.

[zeemike]

3. And so it begins.

Embolden by the "victory" of the Bundy ranch they now launch more challenges to the BLM...they gave in last time so what will they do this time?

[savalez]

6. Got to nip stuff in the bud.

[Phlem]

23. Oh trust me,

things would be a whole lot different if liburals were involved. This shit would have ended that day.



-p

[savalez]

39. I bet you're right.

Maybe soon they'll learn what we already know about those idiots and who the dangerous ones really are.

[El Shaman]

4. Take pics/vid

ID and kick @ss later!

[sulphurdunn]

5. Cut off all the federal money

and these welfare patriots will be hocking their guns to pay their bills. This land grab movement is a well orchestrated corporate privatization campaign, not unlike those targeting all public property and services. The moran patriots are just the dullest tools in the work box.

[zeemike]

12. And I can remember my shop teacher in hi school saying

there is n nothing more dangerous than a dull tool.

[sulphurdunn]

35. That's right.

[savalez]

7. Lay out tire flattening strips.

[ancianita]

8. Activists? More like astroturfies who'll just sell it off because vampire squid be hungry.

I hope all this drama comes to nothing.

[Shrike47]

9. Drones would be good.

I don't like thieves much.

[ffr]

10. How can activists trail ride in designated areas, when they're so littered and ugly?

Right? Have you seen the erosion, trash and decimation of flora and fauna in designated trail riding areas? It's unconscionable for anyone to expect trail riders stick to the same old confines. Heck, it's almost a hazard from the standpoint of how much lead is in the soil. Trail riding and shooting, baby!

Opening up trails in areas where there are historic Native American artifacts will be like driving in paradise by comparison.

Y'all don't mind if we shoot glass bottles perched on top of those artifacts too, do you? YEE-HAW! Live for today!

[Ned Flanders]

11. BLM being told to remove their badges?

That's just plain wrong. Being ordered to remove the symbol of their authority and otherwise hide. Nice job, LEO's. Do your fricken job before even more groups are emboldened.

[951-Riverside]

24. Hell, they might as well just tell them to stay home.

They're not going after these guys ...no matter what so whats the point?

[broadcaster75201]

13. Shoot em for trespass. n/t

n/t

[hollowdweller]

14. These guys are pricks

I'm a hiker and backpacker and also a landowner and I really dislike 90% of these assholes with ATV's.

It's interesting that you can carry in more stuff with an ATV, and carry it out, but the ATV crowd is really bad to litter.

Fuck them. There's plenty of land they can ride ATV's on. Some places you should have to be hardcore enough to hike back to see.

These militia assholes are such big he men with their guns they'd probably fucking have an MI if they got off their dam vehicles and actually walked anywhere.

[Xipe Totec]

15. Make sure to take lost of pictures, assholes. They'll come in handy at the trials of your trails. nt

[Mr.Bill]

16. Deputize Native Americans

to protect the lands where their artifacts are.

[struggle4progress]

17. BLM-Utah and Governor’s Press Statement regarding Recapture Canyon issue

by kcsg.com news
Published - 05/09/14 - 04:57 PM

(MONTICELLO, Utah) - Today, Bureau of Land Management Utah State Director Juan Palma issued the following statement regarding the illegal ride planned through Recapture Canyon near Monticello, Utah on Saturday, May 10:

“We regret that the illegal ATV ride planned for tomorrow appears to be going forward. Recapture Canyon is public land belonging to all Americans and contains ancient cultural sites and artifacts that are at serious risk of being destroyed or damaged ...

Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert has issued the following statement about the situation in San Juan County with Recapture Canyon:

“I understand there has been a great deal of frustration with the amount of time it has taken for the Bureau of Land Management to issue a decision on Recapture Canyon. My office is working closely with the new BLM director, Neil Kornze, and Utah BLM director, Juan Palma, to get the issue resolved as quickly as possible. I appreciate the concerns of county officials and others. I will continue to work with all parties involved to finally bring a resolution to this matter. In the meantime, I encourage everyone to uphold the law and not do anything that could disrupt public safety.”

http://www.kcsg.com/view/full_story/25082837/article-BLM-Utah-and-Governor-s-Press-Statement-regarding-Recapture-Canyon-issue?instance=eeo_report1

[struggle4progress]

18. Cliven Bundy II? Utah protesters prepare for new face-off with feds

John M. Glionna
8:00 a.m. CDT, May 10, 2014

... The ride, organized by San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman, is a gambit to assert county sovereignty over Recapture Canyon, known for its archaeological ruins, that BLM officials say has been jeopardized from overuse. The canyon was closed to motor vehicles in 2007, the agency said, after two men forged an illegal seven-mile trail. Hikers and those on horseback are still allowed there ...

Lyman says he has a right to represent his local constituency against outside agitators, including the federal government. And he enjoys widespread support here ...

This week, BLM officials notified Lyman that any illegal foray in the area would bring consequences such as citations and arrest. “I strongly urge you to cancel the proposed ride in the closed portion of the canyon,” Lance Porter, the agency’s local district manager in Moab, wrote in a hand-delivered letter. “BLM will seek all appropriate civil and criminal penalties against anyone who participates in the proposed ride.”

Lyman quickly responded with a letter saying that the ride was still on and that local resentment of federal officials here had not cooled: “I do not consider my protest, or the protest of those who choose to participate on May 10, to be in violation of the law” ...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/la-na-utah-blm-militia-bundy-20140509,0,7685032.story

[sulphurdunn]

36. It's not uncommon

for activists to defy what they consider unjust laws, but these dildos won't even admit they're breaking the law. I suppose they need that fantasy to maintain a deluded law and order image of themselves.

[FailureToCommunicate]

19. Bring em on!

[struggle4progress]

20. ... hundreds of ATV riders prepare to defy agency ...

BLM set for latest showdown as hundreds of ATV riders prepare to defy agency over ban on using historic trail just weeks after victory at Cliven Bundy ranch
By Associated Press Reporter
Published: 11:04 EST, 10 May 2014
Updated: 12:39 EST, 10 May 2014

... The BLM doesn't plan to block access or confront the riders, San Juan County Sheriff Rick Eldredge, who has been briefed on the agency's plans, said.

The agency will, however, document those who ride ATVs on the prohibited trail ...

'Those ancient sites are the equivalent to churches,' Mark Maryboy, a former Navajo Nation Council delegate, said. It's very disappointing that they have no respect for Native American culture.'

The BLM says that more than 2,800 miles of trails are open to ATVs on public lands within a short drive of Blanding ...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2625051/BLM-set-latest-showdown-hundreds-ATV-riders-prepare-defy-agency-ban-using-historic-trail-just-weeks-victory-Cliven-Bundy-ranch.html

[sulphurdunn]

38. None of this has anything

to do with riding ATVs. It has everything to do with an assertion of right to loot and abuse the public domain for fun and profit. Eventually, one of these clowns will fulfill his infantile sex fantasy of snuffing one of the "bad guys" with his gun, and then all hell's gonna break loose until they become more of a liability than an asset to corporate power.

[Martin Eden]

21. They're daring the feds to make them martyrs

But they can't be allowed to brazenly violate the law with impunity.

This little rebellion needs to be nipped in the bud.

[struggle4progress]

22. Dozens ride ATVs into Utah’s Recapture Canyon in lands dispute rally

By Brian Maffly
The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published 3 hours ago • Updated 3 minutes ago

Blanding • Fed up with federal control over lands their families have used for generations, about 30 people on ATVs on Saturday drove into Recapture Canyon, a nearby trove of prehistoric sites the Bureau of Land Management closed to motorized use seven years ago ...

At least a half-dozen San Juan and Kane county sheriff’s deputies on horses watched as protesters, including children and armed militia members from Montana, drove their ATVs past the canyon’s closure signs ...

Ryan Bundy, son of the Nevada rancher, joined the protest ride into Recapture Canyon ...

But there was little sympathy from environmental, hunting and preservation groups, as well as tribal members, who claim an ancestral affiliation with the Native Americans who inhabited the canyon 1,000 years ago. Critics say ATV enthusiasts have themselves to blame for the closure by building an unauthorized trail over archaeological sites that harbors middens, kivas, farming plots and cooking areas ...

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57909181-78/amp-blm-canyon-lands.html.csp

[freshwest]

29. These Libertarian asswipes simply want another land rush and plan to be upfront to steal land.

They want all the national parks sold off, and all the Commons, as well. In the meantime, people are being diverted by their propaganda as they steal things that are priceless and irreplaceable.

Their heroes Mitt and Paul on public lands:

http://ratonrange.com/public-lands-no-political-football-p3002-90.htm

Their agenda as posted by Bernie Sanders:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024806298

And typical website leads with the ride and ends up with stored food, as always:

http://taradodrill.tumblr.com/

[AleksS]

40. Holy crap batman.

How is it that every day the right wingers find a new way to add to my disgust and rage at them?

WTF is wrong with these yahoos? I sure hope BLM is working with other law enforcement agencies to compile a list of names and then just come down on them all at once like a goddamn ton of bricks. If they need help, I'll volunteer! Just a solid night of playing "right-winger round up" and then lock em all up.

I won't hold my breath though.

[SoapBox]

25. How many of these Circus Clowns

get Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security (or Disability), credits on their taxes and on and on and on.

Oh...but I'm sure that all that gov'ment stuff is OK.

Remember...Keep Your Hands Off My Medicare!

[jmowreader]

27. This is a job for the Raven UAV

Ravens are the smallest drones we have; they have an electric motor and a five-foot wingspan and are launched by throwing them in the air...pretty much just a fancy model airplane. They have video cameras and digital downlink systems on board, so they can be used to collect evidence against these assholes for their trials.

[Plucketeer]

28. Identify these jerks

Then let them watch as some native americans drive ATVs over their ancestors graves - knocking down headstones and scuffing up the turf.

[2naSalit]

30. The States NEVER OWNED these lands!!!!

http://www.nplnews.com/toolbox/history/publiclandhistory.htm

Flaming imbeciles!!

[Hulk]

31. Am all for pepper spraying every last one of them....

If we are going to attack law-abiding citizens who are exercising there legal right to assembly and free speech, then do we need to stand back and let these Bundy-wanna-he's BREAK the law, just because Sean vanity and Fruit-loops beck are going to embrace their consitushionul right to assemble, bear arms, express their free speech, BS, BS, BS, etc???

[tularetom]

32. It's my experience that when you buy an ATV your IQ goes down 30 points

Every summer some assholes ride those things up the creek bed behind our house and stir up ginormous clouds of dust. They also weaken the levee so that every fall I have to go down there with my neighbor's D4 and rebuild it. The sheriff won't do anything about it but one of the ranchers upstream reportedly built some kind of a tank trap in the creek and it will majorly fuck up their little machines.

These douchebags don't care about private property unless it's their own.

[Paladin]

34. +1. (nt)

[fasttense]

42. Exactly

ATV are really bad for your health. Not only do they lower your IQ but every small farmer I know who bought one has gotten hugely fat. Five farmers I know who have less than 50 acres of land who bought ATVs got hugely fat. Not a little fatter, but hugely fatter.

I refuse to get one. I'll ride a horse (the original all terrain vehicle) before I get an ATV.

I watched one of my neighbors decide that the almost vertical slopes along these mountains were perfect for his fat butt and his new ATV. Twice the ATV rolled over and over down the steep hillside. He scared off the horses and cattle that were grazing there. I had the phone in my hand ready to dial 911 if he didn't get back up after the ATV rolled over him. But he got up and walked the ATV back over the horse trails to his house. I never saw him try to ride it there again. But every now and then a young kid will attempt it. And each time the machine rolls down the hill. And they walk it back to park it in the barn.

[8 track mind]

33. great, just great

Utah is home to one of the most challenging off road trails in the world, near a town by the name of Moab. These anti government assholes are going to ruin it for everyone

[struggle4progress]

41. Utah ATV protest peaceful; BLM unhappy

Federal agency says it documented illegal use
By John Peel
Herald staff writer
Article Last Updated: Saturday, May 10, 2014 5:27pm

... a statement issued after the ride from BLM Utah Director Juan Palma said the agency had documented those who rode Saturday into the area closed to motorized use.

“The BLM was in Recapture Canyon today collecting evidence and will continue to investigate,” Palma’s statement said. “The BLM will pursue all available redress through the legal system to hold the lawbreakers accountable” ...

“I believe this is the protest here, and I think we’ve sent a strong message,” Lyman said at the rally. “I have no moral problem with crossing that (closure) line. But I believe it’ll cause more harm than good to cross that line today” ...

Several others in the crowd challenged Lyman to take a stand and lead those gathered into the canyon. One man said Lyman’s words showed “a language of weakness” ...

http://durangoherald.com/article/20140510/NEWS01/140519967/-1/s/Utah-ATV-protest-peaceful-