Good
Rick Smith
Springfield (MO) News-Leader
Tuesday, November 19, 2019 5:52 p.m. CT
2 convicted — one going to prison — for digging up artifacts at ONSR park
Wes Johnson, Springfield News-Leader
It's illegal to dig up arrowheads or other archaeological finds at any national park.
But In 2017, national park investigators discovered an illegal excavation taking place near Rymers Campground next to the Jacks Fork River in Ozark National Scenic Riverways park.
The crime and punishment
They found two people who had dug 164 holes over 2.5 acres to unearth arrowheads, spear points and other relics left behind by a series of Native American people who had lived along the river as far back as 11,500 years ago.
According to a park service news release, when investigators approached the couple, they fled in a pickup, eventually rolling the truck on a dirt road and fleeing the scene on foot.
The suspects eventually returned to their campsite, where rangers and investigators arrested them on the spot.
The case recently concluded with the conviction and sentencing of Shane Munroe, 41, and Christy Bruton, 45, both of nearby Birch Tree.
Munroe will serve a year in prison followed by three years of supervised probation. Bruton has been sentenced to three years of supervised probation. Both must also pay $2,000 each in restitution.
"It is wrong to take archaeological items from the park," said Dena Matteson, chief of interpretation, planning and partnerships at ONSR. "This was the first felony conviction like this at the park and the first misdemeanor conviction. We do have many archaeological sites documented in the park."
According to ONSR records, there are 550 documented archaeological sites within the park boundaries; their locations can't be revealed due to federal law protections.
Removing arrowheads, spear points or pottery shards erases the context in which they were found and lessens the ability of archaeologists to learn about those stolen finds, Matteson said.
How much damage did they do?
Fortunately, investigators were able to recover the illegally taken artifacts at the site before they were removed and lost to science forever.
"It appears this site was used by several different occupants at several different times through history," Matteson said. "Our archaeologist has surveyed it. The artifacts that were taken will be added to our collection at ONSR for the public to see."
Artifacts removed from their context include two projectile points, five projectile point fragments, 465 pieces of lithic debitage, 13 biface fragments, five cores, one scraper, three bifaces, one prehistoric pottery shard, four historic pottery shards, one historic glass fragment, 1 shell fragment and 1 tested cobble.
"When artifacts are disturbed and removed from their original context, archaeologists lose the ability to learn about the lives of past people at a particular location," Matteson said in an email. "The site affected in this case contained significant information about prehistoric and historic habitation and land use. Diagnostic artifacts including projectile point fragments, projectile points, and pottery shards recovered from the site date to the Paleoindian period, 11,500-9,900 years ago, the Late Archaic period, approximately 5,000-3,000 years ago, the Middle Woodland period, approximately 2,500-1,600 years ago, and the historic period, roughly 200 years ago through 50 years ago.
"American Indians have been using the Riverways and surrounding territories for thousands of years."
Matteson urged park visitors to never remove an artifact. Instead, if someone spots an arrowhead or spear point, they should leave it where they found it, take a photo of it and then report its location to ONSR staff at 573-323-4236.
That find could lead to a new site and add to the park's knowledge of the people who once lived along the Jacks Fork and Current rivers, Matteson said.
They weren't the only ones
During the investigation, 164 illegal excavations were located, as well as tools, artifacts and evidence of other stolen property. A resource damage assessment completed in March 2018 revealed that Munroe and Bruton caused $34,974 in damage to the archeological site, according to park investigators.
A federal grand jury handed down indictments for Munroe and Bruton in December 2018. Munroe pleaded guilty in June 2019 to a felony Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 violation, and Bruton pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor ARPA violation in October 2019.
ARPA was enacted to increase protection for and effectively manage archaeological resources on public lands, which are an irreplaceable part of the nation’s heritage. The National Park Service was assisted by the Missouri Highway Patrol and the U.S. Forest Service.
Report illegal digging
Park officials encourage visitors to report any suspicious digging on park property. Talk to any NPS employee for help in reporting suspicious activity, or give the Special Agents of the NPS Investigative Services Branch a call.
Call or text the Investigative Services Branch Tip Line at 888-653-0009. Or go online to www.nps.gov/ISB and click the "Submit a Tip" link.
Rick Smith
5264 N. Fort Yuma Trail
Tucson, AZ 85750
Tel: 520-529-7336
Cell: 505-259-7161
Email: rsmit...@comcast.net
Jerry Rogers
Yes, this is good: good that a prison sentence underscores the seriousness of the crime and good that the Springfield News-Leader is telling the criminals’ friends, neighbors, and relatives what these perps have done. It will be even better if this story gets reprinted all over the country, and amended slightly to explain that digging archaeological finds without a permit is illegal not just in national parks but on all public lands of the United States.
Jerry
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Rick Smith
Mount Desert Islander (Bar Harbor, ME)
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
E-bike order may be challenged
BAR HARBOR — Local opponents of a new rule that has opened Acadia’s carriage roads to some categories of e-bikes may have a new ally.
They received an email from Friends of Acadia (FOA) last week, offering to put them in contact with a national nonprofit organization that may sue the Department of the Interior over the directive that came from Interior Secretary David Bernhardt in August.
“When the Department of the Interior e-bike policy was announced, Friends of Acadia was contacted by many concerned citizens and organizations on both sides of the issue,” FOA Conservation Director Stephanie Clement said in an email to the Islander.
“We reached out to citizens who had contacted us in opposition to e-bikes on the carriage roads to let them know of the possibility to participate in potential legal action. FOA is not planning to engage in any legal action.”
The email to e-bike opponents did not name the national nonprofit organization thought to be considering legal action.
“I’m not able to comment on another organization’s possible legal actions,” Clement wrote, “nor do we know the status.”
Several national conservation organizations and a public employee advocacy group have spoken out against Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s Aug. 29 order to allow e-bikes on public lands, and a related Aug. 30 policy memorandum issued by Acting National Park Service (NPS) Director Dan Smith.
The nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association wrote in a Sept. 26 press release, “This policy undermines the National Park Service’s own management regulations that require analysis of new uses in parks and processes that allow for public input.”
According to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), in addition to lack of public input, the new policy also lacked environmental analysis required for such changes. The organization wrote in a Sept. 16 press release that Acting NPS Director Smith got around such requirements by “declaring the use of e-bikes to be a ‘minor change’… regardless of actual impacts” to the environment.
The organization also argued that Smith, as acting director, lacked the authority to issue the order.
“PEER is prepared to go to court to ensure that e-bikes stay off any park trail where they were previously not allowed,” stated PEER Executive Director Tim Whitehouse.
The Wilderness Society, American Hiking Society, Natural Resources Council of Maine and more than 50 other national and regional organizations have come out against allowing e-bikes on non-motorized trails on public lands.
Those organizations sent a letter to USDA Forest Service, National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management officials on July 26 in opposition to the order before it was announced.
In keeping with directives from the Department of the Interior and National Park Service, Acadia National Park Superintendent Kevin Schneider announced in September that the park would allow some categories of e-bikes on the carriage roads.
“I know this may be a big change for folks personally and professionally,” he wrote in a Sept. 26 email to park staff. “There are strong, valid opinions on all sides of the issue.”
E-bikes were previously banned from the carriage roads except for riders with disabilities. The carriage roads were donated to the park by philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr., with the caveat that they would always be closed to motorized vehicles.
Rick Smith
Spectrum and Daily News (St. George, UT)
Tuesday, December 3, 2019 6:32 p.m. MT
Washington County denies proposed development near Zion National Park's Kolob Canyons
Lexi Peery, St. George Spectrum & Daily News
Washington Country turned down a proposal Tuesday for a commercial development that would have moved in outside of Zion National Park's Kolob Canyons area.
The proposed zone change for land just off Interstate 15 near New Harmony was denied unanimously by the Washington County Board of Commissioners. The application harequested to change the zoning from agriculture and residential to commercial, and included plans for a potential RV park, hotel and gas station.
The decision was made by the commissioners after the county planning commission had recommended approval on Nov. 12.
“If we're going to let commercial facilities go in there, we have to have the infrastructure developed to keep up," commission Chair Dean Cox said.
Dozens of residents from New Harmony and surrounding areas were present at the county commissioner meeting to present their concerns about the development. Residents talked about light pollution, response times of law enforcement, infrastructure and water supply among other issues during the public hearing.
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When issuing their decisions on the application, commissioners Cox, Victor Iverson and Gil Almquist thanked the developers for taking a risk in applying for the zone change but said the area was not equipped to handle commercial development.
Property owner Stephen Swindle of Juniper Investors declined to comment on the commissioners' decision following the vote.
Developers stated during the planning commission meeting in November that there was a need for the commercial area because of the number of visitors that go through the west entrance of Zion National Park.
However, Zion chief ranger Daniel Fagergren said the park did not support the development, saying the views from the canyon would be impacted, as well as the security of the park would suffer because of the limited staff that work at the entrance.
"We are not impartial to it, we are opposed to the zoning change," Fagergren said. "A gas station and other types of businesses in such proximity to the park is not conducive to the values the park espouses."
Residents who had attended the public hearing and vote gathered outside the county commissioners chambers to celebrate following the commissioners' decision.
"We did it, we won. We're going to stay rural," New Harmony resident Pamela Whitaker said.
Rick Smith
Los Angeles Times
Thursday, December 5, 2019 11:14 AM
California bans insurers from dropping policies in fire-ravaged areas
By Joseph Serna Staff Writer
State regulators on Thursday pulled the emergency brake on insurers fleeing California’s fire zones.
Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced a one-year moratorium banning insurers from not renewing policies for homeowners in wildfire-ravaged areas of the state.
“I have heard the same story again and again. People getting dropped by their insurance after decades,” Lara said. “To add insult to injury, many struggle to find coverage.”
As fires have grown increasingly destructive, the state has seen a corresponding exodus of insurers from the hardest-hit areas. More California homeowners are having to resort to plans that provide less coverage.
On Thursday, Lara said the moratorium will give both homeowners and insurers time to reassess a path forward for living with wildfires.
The plan affects more than 800,000 homeowners in Northern and Southern California who live in ZIP codes next to 16 recently declared wildfire disasters, including those near the Kincade fire in Sonoma County, the Saddleridge fire above Sylmar and the Tick fire in Canyon Country.
While the moratorium is legally binding for insurance providers around those fires thanks to a law that went into effect this year, Lara called on insurers statewide to voluntarily follow suit.
“This wildfire insurance crisis has been years in the making, but it is an emergency we must deal with now if we are going to keep the California dream of home ownership from becoming the California nightmare, as an increasing number of homeowners struggle to find coverage,” he said.
The order is the latest move Lara has made to try to adjust California’s insurance market to increasingly destructive disasters and oncoming climate change.
In July, Lara and other state lawmakers hosted a roundtable discussion at UCLA where he announced his agency was collaborating with a United Nations group tasked with establishing a framework for insurers to operate in a more efficient, disaster-hardened world.
A California Department of Insurance report last year found that the number of homeowners in the wildland-urban interface who complained about getting dropped by their plans more than tripled from 2010 to 2016. Complaints about increased premiums rose 217%.
Those statistics provide a limited view of the problem, as the state has no way of tracking policy nonrenewals and individual premium hikes. But they reflect the cusp of a trend that is expected to worsen, officials have said.
Areas where fires are common, like Lake County, have been particularly hard hit.
After a series of massive fires, residents living in or near forested areas are facing rate hikes so significant they’re taking circuitous routes to find cheaper and less comprehensive coverage. Sometimes that path ends at the California Fair Access to Insurance Requirements, also known as the FAIR plan.
The FAIR plan was created in 1968 amid a decade of riots and brush fires that led people in California to lose coverage for reasons beyond their control. It’s funded by the insurance companies that operate in California.
Rick Smith
Seattle PI
Tuesday, December 10, 2019 2:41 pm PST
Congress to Navy: Monitor, report noise from Growler jets over Whidbey Island
By Joel Connelly, SeattlePI
The U.S. Navy will be required to monitor and report noise levels made by EA-18G Growler jets at Naval Air Station Whidbey and the Navy Outlying Field Coupeville, according to language in a National Defense Authorization Act set to pass Congress.
The bill's language also requires that the Secretary of the Navy work with the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service on a monitoring plan for the Olympic Peninsula. Growler jets currently make 2,300 flights a year over Olympic National Park, a figure due to climb to 5,000 annual flights.
"Noise from Growler training has caused much concern in local communities," Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said in a statement. "Publicly available real time monitoring of Whidbey Island and Olympic National Park will provide transparency and a basis for an accurate discussion on the impacts of the increased flight activity between the Navy, the state and communities involved. I'm pleased to see this provision included in the final defense package and I encourage Congress to support its passage."