The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service will host three public meetings as part of the ongoing land use planning for the Bears Ears National Monument.
The draft management plans for the Shash Jáa Unit and the Indian Creek Units as well as the associated environmental impact statement (EIS) were released for public review on August 17, 2018.

by Rhett Sifford
The new advertising campaign for San Juan County, featuring the tagline “Make it Monumental,” was the focus of public comment at the September 4 meeting of the San Juan County Commission.
Bill Haven, president of the Blanding Area Travel Council, said it’s the best marketing plan the travel council has seen and it would be a poor decision to abandon it because of controversy surrounding the new slogan.

The planning process for the two units of Bears Ears National Monument is moving ahead with the release of a draft Monument Management Plan (MMP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
The agency is initiating a 90-day comment period for the documents, which outline options for the Indian Creek and Shash Jáa Units of Bears Ears National Monument.  

San Juan County – also known as Utah’s Canyon Country – launched a redesign campaign of its brand to highlight the area as the entry point for nature-loving adventures and great scenery.
The campaign launch includes the tagline “Make it Monumental.” The tagline references the towering and iconic rock formations of Monument Valley and Bears Ears National Monument.

Criminal charges have been dropped against an environmental activist from Durango, CO after a hearing in a Utah Court of Appeals. A trial in Seventh District Court in Price will proceed for similar charges against her husband.
Rose Chilcoat and Mark Franklin had faced misdemeanor and felony charges after an April, 2017 incident at a corral between Bluff and Mexican Hat.

The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) has been ordered to pay the court costs for filing a lawsuit against the San Juan County Commission.
Seventh District Judge Lyle R. Anderson ruled that SUWA violated “Rule 11” by filing the action, which argued that meetings between San Juan County Commissioners and federal officials were a violation of Open Meeting law.

A tsunami of filings in the case against two environmental activists eventually resulted in a stay of the trial date.
Rose Chilcoat and Mark Franklin, of Durango, CO, were set for a trial this week before Seventh District Judge Lyle R. Anderson. The trial has been delayed after a ruling in a court of appeals.

The May 23 trial of two environmental activists in Seventh District Court has been moved from Monticello to Price. Mark Franklin and Rose Chilcoat face charges, including felony charges, for an April 2017 incident at a corral on Lime Ridge, between Bluff and Mexican Hat.

Defense attorneys have filed a flurry of motions leading up to the planned May 23 trial in Seventh District Court of a married couple from Durango, CO.
Rose Chilcoat and Mark Kevin Franklin face a number of charges related to an incident involving livestock on Lime Ridge, between Bluff and Mexican Hat.

In the past year, the designation of Bears Ears National Monument triggered a 35 percent increase in visitation to local lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
The estimated number of visitors in the area covered by the Monticello Field Office jumped from 297,643 in 2016 to 403,178 in 2017.

A district judge has ruled that meetings between San Juan County Commissioners and federal officials are not a violation of Open Meeting law.
The April 3 ruling dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). The lawsuit argued that it violated state law when Commissioners met officials in Washington, DC, including Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and members of the Utah Congressional delegation.

A management plan for Bears Ears National Monument was on the table at two public meetings held in San Juan County on March 26 and 27.
The first meeting was held at San Juan High School on March 26 and the second was March 27 at the Bluff Community Center.
Approximately 245 people attended the meeting in Blanding. The meeting in Bluff was held after the press deadline.

by Bill Boyle
Nearly two months has passed since headlines around the country declared that a land grab was about to take place in San Juan County.
‘“Outrageous’ Gold Rush-Style Grab of Public Lands to Begin Friday” screamed EcoWatch.

For several decades, the wilderness debate in San Juan County has focused on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). In contrast, many assumed that wilderness on Forest Service lands in the county was apparently settled.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will host four public scoping meetings as part of the ongoing land use planning for Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
Six separate land use plans will be developed, including one for the Shash Jaa unit and another for the Indian Creek unit of Bears Ears National Monument.