![]() It's been a whirlwind of a past week. First, I've really been enjoying my bathroom remodel (check out my Facebook page for pics), purchased new tires for Beulah, my 2003 PT Cruiser (long may she run), ran her to Colorado Emissions Control where she passed with flying colors, got her 2018 License Plate Sticker and have been fostering a cute schnauzer/fox terrier mix (I think -- she was a rescue from a Texas kill shelter where small boutique dogs are hardly ever adopted) with the option to adopt. Oh, and I also updated/revised my trademark logo (seen throughout this site). Consequently, I haven't had much time to work on any art, except this piece of Bears Ears National Monument. Bears Ears was one of the sites that I very much wanted to see on our spring road trip in Utah. It is one of the national monuments that is presently threatened by loosening of restrictions on mining, strip mining, drilling, etc. in those national monuments. Despite the pristine and undeveloped nature of Bears Ears National Monument as well as its plethora of sacred sites for Native Americans with respect to the Ancients, big coal is chomping at the bit to strip mine easy visible coal, ruining the area not only with unsightly strip mines, but creating a patchwork of disruptive roads to actually allow trucks and heavy equipment to get to those mines. With the exception of open-range cattle ranchers who want the restrictions on the national lands loosened, most other residents in the area, especially those who make their livings from tourists wanting to visit pristine national parks and monuments (lodging, food, guided tours, etc.), are against this loosening of regulations. Ironically, the very ranchers who are supporting deregulation may very well lose their government leases to use the area as an open-range if big coal, oil, gas and mineral mining take over the area. To help support Bears Ears, Grand Staircase Escalante, Vermillion Cliffs and other national monuments, please check out https://bearsearscoalition.org/action/ and comment directly on regulations.gov by entering “DOI-2017-0002-0001” in the Search bar and clicking “Search”.
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