Friends of Cedar Mesa provides visitors its version of what needs to happen in Bears Ears country at the renovated Silver Dollar Bar in Bluff, Utah. (Field Studio/University of Utah) ( Portions of this have been submitted for publication in the October edition of the Canyon Country Zephyr .) By Bill Keshlear On the road home from Monument Valley recently I stopped in at Friends of Cedar Mesa’s Bears Ears Education Center in Bluff, Utah, its home base. It’s housed in a nondescript former bar renovated by the nonprofit on the main drag through town, between the upscale Desert Rose Resort, Recapture Lodge, a smattering of restaurants and gas stations, and a re-creation for tourists of historical Fort Bluff. I wanted to find out what kind of information people get when they just walk in off the street. Does it align with information from other visitor’s centers in the area? Is the information presented as one viewpoint among many on how to preserve sacred archeological arti
It's as if a train were rumbling through spectacular wildlands, destroying everything in its path – a dark vision embraced through time by indigenous spiritual leaders. Aboard the train are rich and influential newcomers who ravage an ancient way of life and the ecosystem every living thing depends on. They not only enjoy the ride, they stoke the engine for profit and tell us it’s a good thing. They call it "progress."