Wanted poster in San Juan County threatens wilderness advocate group

Amy Joi O'Donoghue

The San Juan County Sheriff's Office is looking into a case involving "wanted dead or alive" posters targeting the Great Old Broads for Wilderness environmental group.

Featuring a skull and crossbones, the poster reads that the group is not allowed in San Juan County and the notice was put up under the authority of the sheriff's office and the Bureau of Land Management agency.

Sheriff's Lt. Alan Freestone said neither agency has that authority.

"Neither one of us put the signs up," he said.

The discovery in mid-December has since led to an investigation by the sheriff's office. Officers were also advised to keep an eye out when they patrol the back country.

According to an article posted on the Great Old Broads for Wilderness web page, the conservation group, based in Durango, Colo., is blaming the threats on the organization's efforts to complete restoration work on a trail they say was illegally constructed in Recapture Canyon.

The group has voiced strident opposition to ATV use in the canyon, which was prohibited by the BLM in 2007. Leaders also said off-roading has caused damage to Native American artifacts.

'We suspect that the posters are related to the Broads persistent monitoring in the Wash and our reporting of ground conditions to the BLM," the website's article reads.

With the BLM's closure of the trail now under review by the agency, the group has lobbied hard against future motorized access.

"In our humble opinion, granting such a right-of-way would be akin to handing vault keys to bank robbers and inviting them to help themselves," the article said.

Efforts to reach the group's executive director, Ronni Egan, were unsuccessful Friday afternoon.

--

Source: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705364490/Wanted-poster-in-San-Juan-County-threatens-wilderness-advocate-group.html

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites