Sometime around the evening of February 28, a six-inch diameter transfer line northwest of Montezuma Creek began leaking crude oil and produced water into Bucket Wash. The wash, which is usually dry, was flowing with snowmelt, and oil traveled approximately three miles before spilling into the San Juan River.

It is much easier to discuss how farmers should transition from flood irrigation to drip than it is to delve into centuries-deep systematic injustices. But I think in order to meaningfully address the future of water allocation, we have to go deeper than occasionally fallowing a wheat field.

No new commercial, industrial, or residential building permits will be issued in Bluff in the next six months. On Tuesday, the Bluff Town Council passed a full moratorium on building within city limits to give the council time to work with the recently formed Planning and Zoning Committee on the town’s zoning ordinances. Mayor Ann … Continue reading Bluff Town Council Passes Six-Month Building Moratorium While Planning and Zoning Codes Are Written

By Zak Podmore Photos by Sarah Burak Construction of the long-anticipated, $10 million elementary school in Bluff is finally underway. On February 26, students, teachers, district staff, and community members gathered on a dirt lot just west of Cottonwood Wash to watch the official groundbreaking ceremony. Superintendent Ron Nielson spoke, along with district staff. Students … Continue reading Groundbreaking Ceremonies Held for New Bluff Elementary School and New Gym in Montezuma Creek

In a dramatic about-face, the San Juan County Commission now officially stands in support of Bears Ears National Monument. The first majority-Navajo commission voted Tuesday in favor of a resolution rescinding previous county opposition to Bears Ears and calling upon the federal government to restore the monument.

In 2016 and 2017, the county’s general fund dropped from $9 million in reserves to $5 million, in large part due to legal bills. In 2018, the county involved itself in several more lawsuits that led to another $1 million in costs. And up to $3.2 million in outstanding legal fees from an ongoing voting rights case have yet to be assessed, which could bring the total to over $6 million.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate passed the Emery County Public Land Management Act as part of S. 47, the Natural Resources Management Act. The bill is now headed to the House of Representatives. If it passes there in its current form, it would protect 663,000 acres of Utah's San Rafael Swell and Desolation and Labyrinth … Continue reading Over Half a Million Acres of New Wilderness in Utah? Emery County Public Land Legislation Passes the Senate