Activity Report Explorer

Four Corners • Entered by Jennifer Singer on November 4, 2022

October Activism

October 10, 2022 – October 31, 2022

Key Issue: Oil, Gas, or Mineral Development
Activity Type: Advocacy (rallies, lobbying, meeting decision makers, letters/calls/emails)
Key Partners: Earthworks- Andrew Klooster, San Juan Citizens Alliance- Emily, Doyle McClure- local activist, Sally Sharp- Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Thelma Badback- White Mesa Concerned Community, Tim Peterson- Grand Canyon Trust

Short Description of Activity

Oct 10th- Meet with Shelby. She resigned as co-leader. So I’m working on a leadership team structure and she’s participating as trails representative and working on adding the Marion’s and possibly Pat McClenny as her team members.
Oct 11th- CO2 monitoring at CANM with Earthworks, San Juan Citizens Alliance and local activist Doyle McClure. Andrew had a CO2 monitoring camera and methane monitoring camera. We visited 50 Kinder Morgan above ground pipe sites and pump stations. We found at least 5 leaks and Andrew filmed them with the cameras. He is going to share the evidence with GOBW as well as other participating organizations. We got to use the cameras as well!
Oct 18th- I presented about the Green Amendment to the Colorado Broadband Leaders Coalition Zoom. Adding a Constitutional Right for clean air, water, and healthy soils for CO people and future generations would help improve our environment and keep polluters out of CO- making all of our environmental goals easier to accomplish. We’re starting with a Book Club and next steps include enlisting college students in environmental education programs to help create and pass a CO Green Amendment to the CO Constitution.
Oct 22nd- Invited our Broadband members, participated in planning meeting, posted flyers around town, and attended Spiritual Walk and Protest to raise awareness and help close down White Mesa Mill, the last uranium tailings processing mill in the US that is polluting the land, water, and air of the local White Mesa Utes. Three members of our Broadband joined with 9 members of Durango area Broads to walk 5 miles and learn about the environmental damage the mill is creating, stand with the White Mesa Ute Mountain Utes in solidarity, network to help get that mill shut down, and I even got to ride in the EcoFlight plane with Sally and Tim Peterson to see the mill property from the air.
Oct 26th- Equity and Justice Zoom meeting. Leaders from different Broadbands shared projects that find common ground and form authentic relationships with Indigenous Peoples and other underrepresented peoples. I shared about our Mancos Canyon Restoration Project, the Bears Ears Summer Gathering, White Mesa Mill Spirit Walk and Protest, and how we show up at these events to support important work happening and build relationships with local Indigenous communities.

Reflection/Evaluation

As a Broadband, we are building relationships with our Ute Mtn Ute neighbors. I see the leaders at the Tribal Environmental Center as inspirational role models. They are way ahead of the Montezuma County Commissioners in all areas of environmental protection. We are especially looking forward to helping with the Mancos Canyon and Riparian Area Restoration Project. It’s a years long project to build resilience for traditional planting. We will be asking other Broadbands to add teams to partner with our Ute Mtn Ute neighbors on this stewardship project.
I have a couple of follow-ups- I’d like to re-connect with an Indigenous SW Representative for Earthworks I barely met on the CANM trip. I’d also like to research how many cultural resources were destroyed digging up CANM for the web of pipelines in the 1950s and beyond.