2022
30
Aug
Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition Releases Land Management Plan
Dear Friends,
For the past two weeks and counting, I have productively applied my dated archaeological field skills to my daily life at the office. The Bates Mansion—Archaeology Southwest’s historic home in downtown Tucson—has had plumbing problems. Very serious plumbing problems.
Under ...
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2021
13
Oct
RESTORED!
Dear Friends,
Last Friday, President Biden restored Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, reversing the likely illegal 2017 Trump downsizing. I urge you to watch the event, and certainly Secretary Haaland’s remarks.
The nearly 10 months since January 20, when Biden o...
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2021
08
Oct
This Is a Great Day!
Banner image (c) Jonathan T. Bailey.
Bill Doelle, President & CEO
(October 8, 2021)—Friends, this is a great day. Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments are restored!
As I watched the signing ceremony on YouTube, I was moved by so many things.
When Chair Brenda...
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2021
22
Jun
Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition Responds to Reports of Haaland’s Recommendations
Dear Friends,
There is something about temperatures above 110° that catches your attention. Not in a good way. But we need to pay attention to these unpleasant messages. We really do.
Tucson had eight days running of 110 or above. Of course, Tucson is a couple degrees cooler than Phoenix...
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2021
01
Jun
A Public Lands Primer
Dear Friends,
A three-day weekend has given me a respite. A chance to pause and ponder. A chance to consolidate my thoughts.
First: To my surprise, many of you have expressed what I take as gratitude for my brief, usually personal thoughts that introduce this weekly news digest.
Wow. ...
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2021
20
Apr
Maize, the Mother of All Things
Dear Friends,
I’ll be brief today.
Our first link will take you to a wonderful essay by Robin Wall Kimmerer. It’s a powerful consideration of relationships among “sun, soil, water, plant, and farmer.” Kimmerer states that, “They have entered into a covenant of reciprocity: if the...
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2021
26
Jan
It’s Time to Permanently Protect the Greater Chaco Landscape
Dear Friends,
Last week’s list of fresh words I hope we'll be using more going forward was a bit too short. Here are the contributions of your word-savvy fellow readers.
Compliance (as say, for mandatory masks)
Humor (as in, good humor) (2)
Tolerance
Thankfulness, Gratefulness, Gratit...
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2020
17
Nov
Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition Ready to Work with New Administration
Dear Friends,
How do you know when you have the perfect job?
For me, it’s when you get home after an 11-hour day and you’re relaxed, energized, and ready to face the ever-mounting challenges to Archaeology Southwest’s Preservation Archaeology mission.
I left home just before 7:00 a.m....
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2019
26
Dec
Congressional Spending Bill Includes Protection for Greater Chaco
Congressional Spending Bill Includes Protection for Greater Chaco
The U.S. Senate has approved a $1.4 trillion spending package for the 2020 fiscal year. The White House has said that the president will sign the legislation. Importantly, the legislation includes interim protections for the landscap...
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2019
28
Jun
Fighting the Bears Ears Downsizing (with an Agèd Friend)
Bill Doelle, President & CEO
(June 28, 2019)—On June 8, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act into law.
And yet, 113 years later, in the year 2019, at about the same time, there were no headlines announcing that President Roosevelt had risen from his grave to ma...
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2019
18
Jun
Carleton Bowekaty and the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition
Profile: Carleton Bowekaty and the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition
The fight to protect Bears Ears has been going on for over 80 years, since the 1930s. Despite the current setback, [Bowekaty’s] motivations to protect Bears Ears remain strong: Bowekaty wishes to reconnect his people to the land...
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2019
12
Mar
One Million Acres Protected
Breaking News: President Signs Significant Package of Public Lands Legislation—A Million Acres Protected
Statement: “National Conservation Lands are the big winners with this legislation, and when public lands win, we all win. These treasured places provide clean air and water, critical wildlif...
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