Category Archives: Upcoming Events

Utah Tar Sands Resistance 2023 camp out: Return to the land.

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UTSR campout
PR Springs Utah, SITLA land leased for stripmining

for your consideration:

Join Utah Tar Sands Resistance

for a Campout at PR Springs

August 11-13 2023

Please join Utah Tar Sands Resistance for a camp out on the eastern Tavaputs plateau to check in on the stripmine at PR Springs and the new mine owners and to be on the land again.

Directions to PR Springs:

http://www.tarsandsresist.org/camp/

Google map

PR Springs campground is adjacent to trust land that SITLA (School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration of Utah) has leased for tar sand stripmining and processing.

We will provide tours of the area and information about the history of the US Oil Sands project and tar sands and oil shale developments on the Colorado Plateau. For folks who are coming for the first time. The Tavaputs plateau is around 8000 feet elevation with spectacular views in every direction. There are deer and elk, black bears and wild turkeys. Dark skies and stargazing is also fantastic from the plateau. We camp here to observe the pristine area that Utah would have us grind up and turn into oil using massive amounts of energy and water.

There is potable spring water at the site.

PR Springs is on the Tavaputs Plateau and within the Uncompahgre boundaries.

UTSR supports the position that all lands within the Uncompahgre reservation be restored to the ownership and control of the Ute people as their sovereign land.

Please RSVP to UtahTarSandsResistance@gmail.com

Public scoping begins on Uinta Basin Railway

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Desert primrose in the Uintah Basin

Desert primrose in the Uintah Basin

The Uinta basin railway will be devastating to the planet and the people. 

Submit a written comment

OEA will accept public scoping comments through September 3rd 2019. 

The easiest way to submit your written comments is via the “Submit Comments” tab at http://www.uintabasinrailwayeis.com/.

This was written by the center for Biological diversity:

Uinta Basin Railway Comment Writing Guide

Background:

  • The proposed Uinta Basin Railway oil train would increase production of oil from the Uinta Basin by between 225,000 and 350,000 barrels of oil per day. In a region that currently only produces around 80,000 barrels per day, this would represent a quadrupling of oil extraction, which would have dire consequences for air quality, public lands, water, and global warming. The construction and operation of the railway itself would also have major impacts. Three possible routes have been identified, but the 80-mile Indian Canyon route has been identified as the preferred option and is most likely to be constructed. At least $27.9 million in public funds have already been illegally dedicated to forward the project and the ultimate cost of the railway would be at least $1.2 billion. Maps and additional information can be found at: http://www.uintabasinrailwayeis.com/
    • Static maps of the three routes can be found in this document and if you have Google Earth, you can view the routes on an interactive map by opening these files.
  • For more background on the Uinta Basin Railway, check out this op-ed: https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2018/12/23/commentary-cib-should/

Major Concerns:

  • Air pollution in the Uinta Basin has already reached dangerous levels due to oil and gas development. By quadrupling oil extraction in the region, the railway would exacerbate this problem, resulting in more asthma attacks and other harmful conditions that can lead to premature death.
  • The extraction and combustion of four times as much oil from the Uinta Basin would threaten our ability to avoid the most disastrous effects of climate change by staying under 1.5°C warming. 
  • Fossil fuel development requires large amounts of water. At a time when water security for the region is more tenuous than ever, increased oil development unleashed by the Uinta Basin Railway would threaten the region’s water supply.
  • The new development needed to create a fourfold increase in oil development in the Uinta Basin will result in major impacts to the region’s landscapes, including on public lands.
  • New oil train traffic will create increased inconvenience, air pollution, and risk of derailment in the communities through which the trains travel.
  • If the railway is constructed, but recoverable oil reserves in the Uinta Basin are exhausted before it is paid off, taxpayers could be left to cover the cost.
  • To date, there has been very little information about the Uinta Basin Railway provided to the public and little opportunity for public participation. The uncertainty around many details of the project is concerning and should be resolved before the project moves forward. 
  • Committing funds to constructing the Uinta Basin Railway is precluding efforts to transition away from boom-and-bust fossil fuel economies — which are susceptible to volatile global markets — and towards more stable, local, clean, sustainable, and just economies. 

How to Submit:

The easiest way to submit your written comments is via the “Submit Comments” tab at http://www.uintabasinrailwayeis.com/.

Public Scoping Meetings

OEA will hold six public scoping meetings in communities in the project area during the public comment period. The public scoping meetings will be held at the following locations on the dates listed.

  • Monday July 15, 2019, 3-5 p.m. at the Ute Tribal Auditorium, 910 South 7500 East, Fort Duchesne, Utah. Start Printed Page 28613
  • Tuesday July 16, 2019, 5-7 p.m. at the Moffat County Fairgrounds Pavilion, 640 E Victory Way, Craig, Colorado.
  • Wednesday July 17, 2019, 5-7 p.m. at the Carbon County Event Center, 450 S Fairgrounds Road, Price, Utah.
  • Thursday July 18, 2019, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Grace Event Center, 1024 W Highway 40, Roosevelt, Utah.
  • Thursday July 18, 2019, 5-7 p.m. at the Uintah Conference Center, 313 East 200 South, Vernal, Utah.
  • Friday July 19, 2019, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. at Radisson Hotel Salt Lake City Downtown, 215 West South Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Bicycles Not Tar Sands!

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Coming up Sept 1-3, 2018 free event.
Join UTSR for an exciting adventure  on the “Road to Nowhere” in the beautiful book cliffs. Bicycles are not required and folks can travel along and meet up or mix and match portions of driving and riding.

For a total ride of approx 40 miles over 2 days we will travel on a smooth highway. Seep Ridge Road, with a small amount of gravel road travel at each evenings camp site. The entire ride will be highly scenic and nature filled save the mine sites.

Seep Ridge road was built at great tax payer expense after years of lobbying from tar sands and oil shale development companies. The 45 mile road cost a total of $86.5 million.  The road is of very high load standards and is actually a higher quality road than Utah hwy 40 however there is very little traffic or use of the road. It provides a very smooth traveling road for bicycles through an amazing scenic plateau known as the Eastern Tavaputs, the Bicycles Not Tar Sands bike ride is on the Tavaputs Plateau within Ute nation’s Uncompahgre reservation boundaries . Many of Utah’s politicians, SITLA, Uintah county leaders and the federal department of Energy have labeled this area an “energy sacrifice zone” and  repeatedly attempt to take this land from the Utes. We will end our 2nd day of the ride at Willow Creek overlook where we will camp overnight. Bring your bike this labor day weekend and join our bike ride.

For more information go here:

http://www.tarsandsresist.org/upcoming-events/

 

We’ve Moved Our Vigil to SITLA!

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BREAKING: Utah Tar Sands Resistance has moved our protest vigil to SITLA, the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, located in downtown Salt Lake City!

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That’s right, we rolled in with our water barrels, tents, and banners, and set up shop at high noon today.

Join us if you can. Bring food or coffee, and it will be a party.

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SITLA's dirty work banner

Read the press release:

Utah Tar Sands Resistance
Stages 24-Hour Vigil on Lawn of SITLA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2015

SALT LAKE CITY, UT: On October 21 at noon, members of Utah Tar Sands Resistance and supporters launched a 24-hour vigil in front of SITLA (School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration) in Salt Lake City. This summer and fall, beginning in mid-May, they have been holding an ongoing protest encampment in the Book Cliffs of eastern Utah, at the site where US Oil Sands is attempting to start the first commercial tar sands mine in the U.S. Now, they have brought their protest to the front doors of the agency responsible for leasing the lands, SITLA, located at 500 S/700 E, Salt Lake City.

The group chose to launch their vigil the day before SITLA’s next board meeting, which will take place at 9 a.m. on October 22. SITLA’s board is stacked with developers chosen by the governor, and its decisions to lease land for the world’s dirtiest energy sources—like tar sands and oil shale—stand in stark contrast to its mandate to never sacrifice short-term gains for the long-term wellbeing of Utah’s children.

In reality, SITLA contributes just 1–2% of the public schools’ budget. What do SITLA’s choices actually give the residents of Utah? The high rate of infant mortality in the Uintah Basin and the red air days in the Salt Lake Valley during which children and pregnant women are told to stay indoors, for starters. Human health will be jeopardized even more if the world’s dirtiest projects are allowed to take root in Utah. Along with decimated ecosystems, dwindling watersheds, and climate chaos, these realities show that SITLA’s choices are giving our children a toxic and frightening future, leaving them to cope with previous generations’ mistakes.

Jill Merritt, a mother of four and a grandmother, says, “SITLA’s choices put my grandchildren and future generations in grave danger, leaving them with a world torn apart by climate chaos, poisoned rivers, and toxic air. We call on SITLA to immediately rescind their leases for tar sands and oil shale, and start focusing on the long-term wellbeing of our children.”

Utah Tar Sands Resistance encourages all concerned members of the public to join them in standing up for a livable future. Their vigil is a family-friendly environment that they hope will serve as a public forum in which people can discuss their concerns about the management of public lands and resources. They will be recording stories on the site for a video project on this issue, and they invite kids, parents, and other members of the public to come share about their concerns for the environment and their love of Utah’s public lands.

Join us June 19-21 for the 3rd Annual Intergenerational Campout!

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legacy

Join us June 19-21 for our Third Annual Intergenerational Campout, bringing together families to protect future generations from tar sands mining!

This is a unique opportunity to camp out in the scenic Book Cliffs of Eastern Utah with your family and friends and a group of people dedicated to climate justice.

Fun and informative activities will be planned throughout the weekend for adults and children of various ages.

At the first campout, in 2013, year a group of families converged at PR Springs, site of the first proposed tar sands mine in the United States. While there, everyone from a 2-year-old and pre-teens to grandparents spent time exploring the land with local organizers, hiking, birdwatching, water testing, and, most importantly, learning about US Oil Sands’ project and witnessing the devastation already being wrought by their 9-acre test site.

Last year, a group of familiSONY DSCes took nonviolent direct action together by marching onto the nearby Red Leaf oil shale site to demand to see their operation. Red Leaf claimed it was building the largest oven in the world to process oil shale, but has been keeping it hidden from the public.

The School & Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), the State of Utah, and US Oil Sands would have us believe that the tar sands & oil shale projects moving forward in Eastern Utah are all for the benefit of the children. For, they would say, isn’t all the money from the Trust Lands being leased for extreme fossil fuel development going towards education? No. SITLA’s annual contribution to education accounts for only about 1 percent of the state’s $3 billion-plus education budget. With every parcel of stolen land leased for development and extraction, and every acre sacrificed, the more the land is devastated, the water put at risk and polluted, and the air filled with dust and toxins, the future of our children, and of future generations, becomes more and more bleak.

The short term gains from destroying the Book Cliffs, and turning Colorado Plateau into a sacrifice zone, is not worth the future of our children. Come see what’s at risk. Come take a stand.

FOR DIRECTIONS TO THE AREA & TIPS FOR CAMPING, VISIT OUR CONNECT WITH THE LAND PAGE.

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Join the Zombies and Fire Barrel Protest at the Governor’s Energy Summit!

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Fire barrel and sign 2013 (1)

May 21, all day (fire barrel); noon (zombies)

Yep, you read that right. We’ve been hearing rumors that a horde of zombies is preparing to descend on this gathering of some of the world’s dirtiest polluters. The destruction that folks like Governor Gary Herbert (“Dirty Herby”), Jack Gerard of the American Petroleum Institute, and Cameron Todd of U.S. Oil Sands leave in their wake will not remain invisibilized—these zombies will make sure of it.

Cameron Todd, one of the scheduled speakers, aims to strip mine a vast area of the East Tavaputs Plateau for tar sands. The zombies will make sure the people of Salt Lake know just how destructive these toxic industries are.

Luckily, we’re prepared, as fire barrels at the Governor’s Energy Summit are a time-honored tradition. Those gathering around the fire are sure to be safe from both blood-thirsty zombies and oil tycoons (we think). Join  us at 300 West, at the garage entrance to the Salt Palace, to welcome attendees in the morning between 7-8 a.m., or join us later if you can’t make it that early.

Want to be a zombie? Dress for the part and come stagger along with the rest of the horde! Meet up with the group at Gallivan Plaza (239 Main St.) by the big rock sculpture at high noon, and march (err, stagger) to the Salt Palace with them.  As some of the worst polluters in the country scheme about destroying the air, waters, and land we all depend on, the zombies will give them a wake up call about the future they’re creating.

The seas are rising, and so are the zombies. Join them.

Stop Dirty Herbert

https://www.facebook.com events/748438705275014/

 

At the Edge of the World: Fighting Tar Sands Strip Mining in Eastern Utah

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Dirty Energy Kills

A presentation by tar sands resisters

Wednesday, May 13, 6:30 to 8:45

Meet & greet at 6:30 p.m.
eventstarts at 7:00 pm

SLC Main Public Library Auditorium

Last summer, 26 people were arrested on Utah’s East Tavaputs Plateau for taking direct action to halt construction of the first potential tar sands mine in the U.S. The grassroots groups Utah Tar Sands Resistance and Peaceful Uprising maintained a 5-month protest vigil in the potential sacrifice zone from May through October. Hear land defenders share their experiences of taking direct action against one of the greatest threats to our land, water, air, and climate–and what they plan to do next.

Campaign members will share what it was like to live on the land for months at a stretch, witnessing both incredible destruction and beauty. They’ll describe upcoming campaign plans and how to get involved.

Land defenders will also explain the dangers of tar sands mining, what the process involves, and why direct action is the last and best option for stopping this mine. A Q&A will follow.

https://www.facebook.com events/878427792230512/

Press release: Utah tar sands opponents to be sentenced

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Utah tar sands opponents to be sentenced

VERNAL–Plea agreements reached between the Uintah County Attorney’s office and 25 tar sands opponents arrested in July and September, some charged with felonies, will be revealed in 8th District Court Thursday at 9 AM.

Can’t make it to Vernal?
A representative of the defendants will be available for interviews and on-camera comments
at 2:30 pm Thursday, January 8
in front of the Matheson Courthouse in Salt Lake City immediately following the hearing

Construction of the US Oil Sands tar sands strip mine in the Book Cliffs of Utah was halted for one week in July due to protesters’ efforts to stop the project. They say all levels of government and corporate investors have failed to stop the misguided project and so everyday people have had to step in.

“This tar sands mine isn’t safe for drinking water, it’s a huge contribution to climate catastrophe, it’s destroying vital animal habitat, it’s destroying Mother Earth seized from indigenous people, and will make the region’s air even more toxic for everyone,” said Raphael Cordray of Utah Tar Sands Resistance. “It’s not even safe for investors who are exposed to so much litigation risk attached to all those dangerous factors that violate the public trust.”

State and county government have strongly supported the development of tar sands and oil shale strip mines, in part by funding and building a 70-mile highway–named Seep Ridge Road–without which the tar sands project would be financially unfeasible. Court challenges were unsuccessful.

Protesters say the heavy-handed charges have drawn more attention to the campaign and attracted even more eager supporters. “The urgency to stop this project continues despite the repression from the state and police,” Cordray said. “This project is life-threatening and violent. As more people learn about, more people are inspired to do what they can to stop it. This project is so awful that resistance is inevitable.”

In the largest protest action, on July 21, about 80 protesters in pre-dawn hours swarmed a fenced equipment yard. Several locked their bodies to construction equipment and blocked entrance to the yard and hung a banner reading “U are Tresspassing on Ute Land.” After about 11 people were extracted and arrested there, a second segment of people sat in the roadway temporarily blocking police vehicles from leaving. In all, 21 people were arrested that day, seven of whom were charged with felonies including rioting.

On Septmeber 23, disguised in chipmunk masks, a group of just five people were able to shut down work at the sprawling 200-acre construction site.

In all during 2014, police arrested 26 people for various actions that disrupted the tar sands mine’s activity. Many disruptive actions occurred in which police were able to arrest no one. Thursday’s hearing will conclude the last of the court cases attached to 2014 actions against the tar sands mine construction.

Media Contact
Raphael Cordray
801-503-2149

Nov. 8: Fire on the Plateau! A day of music & resistance

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Fire on the Plateau
Join us on Saturday, November 8th, starting at 4pm, for FIRE ON THE PLATEAU: a day of free music and resistance, at the Fort Duchesne Multipurpose Gym (Ft. Duchesne Cirle) on the Uintah and Ouray Ute Reservation.

Featuring: Indigenize, Nataanii Means, War Party, Ant Loc (from Savage Family), Alas, Definition Rare, All Systems Fail, Requiem, Triple Shot Mustangs, and Almas Fronterizas.

Sponsored by KSJD’s Native Voltage (90.3FM), the Alcohol Substance Abuse Prevention Program, Peaceful Uprising, and the Utah Tar Sands Resistance.

The Vigil Continues

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hard hat

A mass action camp here at PR Springs just ended last week, culminating in an ongoing week-long work shut-down for US Oil Sands. The energy of the 70+ participants from around the region amplified the resolve of our permanent presence to halt tar sands mine construction and foster new relationships with allies we can call upon in the future. While some friends have gone back to their various homes, we as a group feel more committed to defending this place than ever — and we aren’t going anywhere.

We’re also enjoying getting to know a new corner of this vast and beautiful land, a high spot near the edge of the sweeping green canyons of the Book Cliffs. Forested canyons plunge down into larger canyons that meet up with bigger canyons still, forming the behemoths that lead down to the plains some thousands of feet below. Groves of scrub oak give us shelter from the wind, and blood-red sunsets over the high desert mark the end of our days, leading into new moon nights of pure darkness scattered with flashes of far-off lightning storms. To the north, we can see the long-abandoned tar sands mine where we’ve observed a black bear scavenging
for food in the tar seeps, and beyond it, the rubble of U.S. Oil Sands’ tar sands test pit. Being here affirms for us that we are not just here to protect our beloved PR Springs canyon, where we so often stay, but the vast and diverse habitats that stretch through the entirety of this land.

Sitting above the sprawling web of canyons that seem to bear up the plateau on the spines of their strong backs reminds me that each one is slightly or sometimes dramatically different, filled with different species and relationships between them, different patterns in how plants, animals, and fungi move through the world and down the canyon slopes. Some are sandy desert gardens, where bright green oaks and wildflowers pop out of sandstone outcrops; others are thickets of Douglas fir, Ponderosa, & Piñon. Every day I feel blessed to be here, and I have no interest in
going back to town. The plateau needs us, and we will do our best to fulfill the commitment we have made to this land, which has already given us so much.

If you want to get to know this amazing land and take part in the vigil, email tarsandsresist@riseup.net