PROVO/OREM — Confrontations between college students and counter-protesters raged this afternoon sparked by the Conservative Republican Alliance Against Chronic Racism (CRAACR), a student group dedicated to highlighting white privilege on university campuses in Utah County.
Upon hearing of government-led BLM closures throughout the county, Burke Botchley, CRAACR President, organized protests on multiple campuses to decry the action.
“It is the height of racial injustice for the government to be forcing the closure of BLM chapters across Utah County for People of Color, contrary to the First Amendment right to free speech and assembly,” Botchley said. “CRAACRs like myself decry such actions and overreach by the government and demand the reopening of said chapters, and equality for all.”
Protesters, particularly those on-site supporting the Second Amendment, quickly found themselves confused. Gunny Hanks, an Iraq War Veteran, said afterwards. “I was more than confused. I always understood that People of Color were free to bear arms and shoot on BLM land, just like everyone else, so for a while there, I was very mad that the government was targeting and banning People of Color from shooting. That’s certainly not equal and not fair.”
Further miscommunication ensued as protesters clashed over which government entity should be tasked with overseeing BLM. Tensions rose with protesters debating the pros and cons of state or federal management as well as no management at all.
“BLM should not be managed by any government agency, this should stay grassroots,” Botchley said with mixed response, some clapping, others flabbergasted.
Hanks expressed concern over the inherent anarchy of such a proposal, suggesting the state should oversee.
As discussions progressed, the term ‘Bureau of Land Management’ came up, quickly providing the necessary bridge to clear up miscommunication between protesters.
Botchley said, “I was incredibly relieved to learn the Bureau of Land Management had closed down lands due to Utah County fires, rather than the government forcibly closing Black Lives Matter chapters. The whole thing has been a grave misunderstanding.”
Despite sorting out the misunderstanding, protesters opted to stick around in an attempt to find common ground on land management. Ultimately, after discussing for multiple hours, protesters left frustrated without having found a solution, roughly split evenly in support for federal vs state management.
Below is the press release that caused the confusion.
The Utah Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has issued a closure order restricting access to some areas of the Lake Mountains. Please see the order as follows and contact BLM with any questions.
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah—The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) West Desert District has issued a fire prevention order restricting access to BLM-managed lands in the vicinity of the Knolls Fire in Utah County, Utah. The Knolls fire is located south of Saratoga Springs and west of Utah Lake.
The prevention order restricts all entry including target shooting, camping, and unnecessary traffic in the land surrounding the Knolls Fire. Specifically, all BLM administered lands are closed in the area bounded:
- South of Israel Canyon on the east side of the Lake Mountains,
- East of the ridgeline of the Lake Mountains,
- North of the Soldier Pass County Road (approximately mile marker 15 on Highway 68),
- West of Utah Lake; all in Utah County, Utah.
Property owners, grazing permit holders, and other citizens with a need to access the area will be asked to coordinate with the incident commander to ensure safety. Fire officials have had to ask target shooters and other members of the public to leave the area to provide for public safety and to support the emergency fire suppression operations.
All other BLM prevention orders remain in effect. These include the prohibition on fireworks, exploding targets, tracer and incendiary (tracer) ammunition, sky lanterns or similar devices, and operating off-highway vehicles without spark arresters.
The prevention order is posted to blm.gov, utahfireinfo.gov, and on signs where BLM-managed lands are accessed. The public is reminded to use caution and be prepared to prevent wildfires when visiting public lands. The BLM recommends keeping water, a shovel, and a fire extinguisher handy during the dry summer months.
For more details on the prevention order, contact the West Desert District Office at (801) 977-4300. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to leave a message or question. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Replies are provided during normal business hours.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In fiscal year 2018, the diverse activities authorized on BLM-managed lands generated $105 billion in economic output across the country. This economic activity supported 471,000 jobs and contributed substantial revenue to the U.S. Treasury and state governments, mostly through royalties on minerals.
Source: https://utahfireinfo.gov/2020/06/29/closure-order-for-knolls-fire/
