Great Old Broads targeted in Utah

Written by Durango Telegraph

Thursday, January 06, 2011

Durango’s Great Old Broads for Wilderness have gone into the crosshairs in Southeast Utah. Members of the locally based conservation group were recently targeted by a series of “Wanted” posters in the canyon country near Blanding and Bluff.

The poster reads “Wanted Dead or Alive” and goes on to claim that Great Old Broads are not allowed in Utah’s San Juan County by order of the Bureau of Land Management and the sheriff’s office. Both agencies deny any involvement in the poster’s appearance.

The posters were discovered in mid-December by a group that included Rose Chilcoat, of Great Old Broads, BLM staff, archaeologists, county employees and local citizens. The group was on a fact-finding trip to Recapture Wash near Blanding when it found numerous posters affixed to area road signs.

The Broads have been actively monitoring Recapture Wash in recent years for off-highway vehicle abuse. In that time, several off-roaders have been charged with felony counts of destruction of federal property and resources. In addition, the Broads’ efforts encouraged the BLM to close an illegally built ATV trail in Recapture Canyon in 2007. The closure is temporary and the BLM is currently deciding whether or not to grant San Juan County a right-of-way to the trail.

“Our interest in the health of Recapture Wash has apparently caused some San Juan County residents to harbor unkind feelings toward us,” said Anne Benson, Great Old Broads communications coordinator. “While we do not take this threat lightly, such juvenile, anonymous actions will not deter us from our efforts to advocate for the land in San Juan County.”

Source: http://durangotelegraph.com/telegraph.php?inc=/11-01-06/quick.htm

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“We’ve had success bringing illegal riders to justice by snapping photos of their ID stickers. The problem in California is that they’re too darn small to see from far away or at high speeds. While I’m normally not in favor of the government getting involved in things, requiring all ORVs to have a visible ID with a minimum size and standard location would make them an even better tool for property owners to identify trespassing riders. We should also look to Wyoming’s lead and make trespassing penalties clear so riders think twice before they head off designated trails and onto my land.”

- Mesonika Piecuch, private property owner, Kern County, CA