Utah
Utah authorities seek those responsible for damaging panel of ancient outdoor engravings
Authorities this week said they want to find anyone involved in the installation of climbing bolts at the site of an ancient outdoor engraving in northeastern Utah.
Climbing bolts, also known as anchors, were discovered at the site of the Pregnant Sheep Petroglyph Panel on federal land in the northeastern corner of the state on Nov. 10, the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office said.
On Thursday, the sheriff’s office and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management asked for the public’s help in tracking down anyone involved in the installation of bolts near Highway 40’s Musket Shot Springs Overlook, which is about 11 miles from Dinosaur National Monument in neighboring Colorado.
In a statement on Facebook, the bureau characterized the act as vandalism.
The sheriff’s office characterized the installation as having taken place on the petroglyph panel. Sheriff’s officials did not immediately respond to a request for more information.
Information on the specific panel was not immediately available.
Elements associated with similar engravings in Wayne County, Utah, in the southern third of the state, have been radiocarbon dated by Colorado State University geomorphologist Joel Pederson to 1100 A.D., according to the Natural History Museum of Utah.
Collaborator Steven Simms, a Utah State University anthropologist, is quoted by the museum as stating some of the state’s petroglyphs represent “persistence, reformulation, and integration of art, iconography, and ideology among peoples.”
Autumn Gillard, the cultural resource manager for the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, told NBC affiliate KSL of Salt Lake City that installing bolts at the site of a petroglyph is “disrespectful” to the state’s indigenous people because the engravings are sacred to many.
“For us, as tribal people, these are our churches,” she told the station earlier this month. “When folks go in and they vandalize panels, or they vandalize cultural sites, we correlate it to the same thing as if somebody was to go into a temple or a religious space and were to write graffiti all over it or to write their name all over it.”
The search for the bolts’ installer is taking place as climbing advocacy group Access Fund celebrated a December victory for legislation called Protecting America’s Rock Climbing, passed by Congress as part of the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act.
The bill, in part, “clarifies that climbing and the placement, use, and maintenance of fixed anchors (including bolts, pins, and slings) are appropriate, and not prohibited, within wilderness areas,” the nonprofit group said in a statement on Dec. 19.
The Access Fund said the National Park Service this month backed off a proposal that would have prohibited fixed anchors on federal land.
On Dec. 2, Utah’s Kane County Sheriff’s Office said two people wanted for questioning in the alleged defacing of a petroglyph near Wire Pass, known for its photogenic rock formations, were located and contacted.
Bureau of Land Management district manager Harry Barber told KSL a woman was arrested and could face multiple felony counts connected to the incident. Barber said in a video update posted to Facebook that the woman allegedly wrote her name “and/or other things” on the petroglyph.
It wasn’t clear if the woman has a lawyer, and the status of the case was not available. The federal public defender’s office for Utah did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday night.
In Uintah County, roughly 500 miles northeast of Wire Pass, sheriff’s officials indicated any leads that develop in their search for the bolt installer would be forwarded to federal agents.
“BLM law enforcement is asking the public to report any information they may have identifying the person(s) responsible for this incident,” the sheriff’s office there said in its Thursday statement.
Utah
‘2.5 minutes of terror’: Passengers sue Delta, alleging crew flew into dangerous weather despite warnings, injuring dozens
Twenty passengers allege the airline ignored repeated weather warnings before the flight hit severe turbulence that sent dozens of people to hospitals
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) A Delta airplane travels down the runway at Salt Lake City International Airport in Salt Lake City last March. Passengers on a Delta flight last July are suing the airline over injuries suffered because of violent turbulence.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Environmental Protection Agency awarded Utah and Salt Lake County a total of $3.5 million in grants to assess potentially polluted properties for eventual cleanup and redevelopment.
The agency announced a $2 million grant to Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality and $1.5 million to Salt Lake County to conduct environmental assessments and inventory brownfield sites for cleanup. Brownfields are sites that may be difficult to redevelop or expand because of “the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant,” according to the agency.
“These brownfields grants will help Utah communities clean up contaminated sites and unlock opportunities for redevelopment and investment,” EPA Regional Administrator Cyrus Western said in a news release announcing the grants earlier this week. “By transforming underused properties into community assets, EPA is helping create healthier neighborhoods and stronger local economies.”
The two grants awarded to Utah and Salt Lake County are among more than $248 million awarded to nearly 200 communities nationwide for brownfield assessment and cleanup. Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality plans to focus the resources on several areas in Ogden, Heber City and Fillmore, among others, according to Bill Rees, who leads Utah’s brownfield cleanup program.
“What we do is work to secure the funding and then begin to reach out to our communities across the state, say, ‘Listen, there’s opportunity to do some assessment work in your community if you’re interested,’ and then work with our rural partners, work with our urban partners to see if there are sites that will fit that bill,” he told KSL.
The state has received similar grants in the past, and Rees said the money can help local governments determine what to do with ailing properties such as old schools, hospitals or private property that have gone to waste.
“Is there asbestos in it, or is there hazardous material in it? Or could there be something that’s impacting the soil or the groundwater, and a policymaker needs to make a decision?” asked Rees. “Knowledge allows you to make good decisions.”
The $1.5 million awarded to Salt Lake County is the largest brownfields assessment grant the county has ever received, according to a county press release.
“This grant is a real win for our communities,” said Mayor Jenny Wilson. “This funding will let us do vital environmental work on a larger scale and in more neighborhoods. It reflects exactly the kind of partnership between local and federal government that gets results for residents.”
The county grant funds will be used to help create cleanup plans in three areas, including a vehicle storage yard in Salt Lake City’s Ballpark Neighborhood, a 4.26-acre vacant lot in Millcreek and a small commercial building in Magna that was damaged during an earthquake in March 2020, according to the EPA.
Contributing: Don Brinkherhoff
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City issued red flag warning Friday morning as emergency workers continued to battle one of the state’s largest wildfires in its history.
The red flag warning, issued when critical fire warnings are occurring or imminent, was to be in place through midnight Saturday.
“This is the FIRST Particularly Dangerous Situation Red Flag Warning issued in NWS Salt Lake City history. This is an exceptionally rare event,” the federal agency said in its warning.
A map of the area under the warning covered much of central and southwest Utah, with an area of the southwest, central and southern mountains also outlined as “particularly dangerous red flag.”
The particularly dangerous area includes the Cottonwood Fire, near the town of Beaver, which started Monday and had grown to covering almost nearly 71,000 acres by Thursday, 15 News reported. The fire forced evacuations.
The NWS warned that gusty winds and dry conditions would lead to rapid fire growth.
Utah also was dealing with the Iron Fire, which started June 19, and nearly destroyed the town of Eureka. The fire was about 27% contained Friday morning.
The fire danger led Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to issue executive order restricting fireworks statewide during the July 4 holiday, which marks the nation’s 250th birthday this year. The ban is in effect through July 5.
“Nothing about this decision was easy,” Cox said in a statement issued by his office Thursday.
“This is unlike anything we’ve seen in recent memory. We’re seeing fires spread farther and faster under conditions that defy historical expectations” Jamie Barnes, Utah state forester and director of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, added in the statement.
Cox allowed cities and local communities to set aside areas where fireworks could be safely used. The city of Provo announced it would enforce a citywide prohibition on fireworks and would not designate a safe area for fireworks.
“This year is different,” Provo Mayor Marsha Judkins said in a statement. “The wildfire danger facing our community is real, and protecting lives, homes, and our natural spaces must come first.”
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