This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

In June of 2015, a group of ranchers, ATV riders, miners, hunters and archeology buffs — collectively known as the San Juan County Lands Council — produced a locally grown consensus to protect the Bears Ears and Cedar Mesa area of southeastern Utah. While the results didn't please everyone, it demonstrated that a bit of civility and a spirit of compromise can overcome even seemingly intractable, deeply held beliefs.

At ground level, it was a good-faith exercise in representative democracy that worked; at altitude, not so much. Efforts of the group were marginalized by half-truths on one end of the political spectrum and sand-bagged on the other by revisions mysteriously inserted into legislation introduced into Congress by Rep. Rob Bishop. To national and state media, they were invisible.

That's too bad. The work of the council should be applauded.

My heartfelt thanks goes to the following members of the council (as listed on San Juan County's website) for their service to Utah and the country: Phil Lyman, chair; Tim Chamberlain, Blanding; Steve Deeter, La Sal; Josh Ewing, Bluff; Vaughn Hadenfeldt, Bluff; Marie Holiday, Monument Valley; Shaye Holiday, Monument Valley; Brent Johansen, Blanding; Mark Maryboy, Montezuma Creek; Grayson Redd, Monticello; Heidi Redd, Dugout Ranch, Indian Creek; Shane Shumway, Blanding; Stefnee Turk, Blanding; and Todd Westcott, Monticello.

Bill Keshlear

Salt Lake City