On June 14th the Dept of Interior held the one and only Public Comment Meeting for the Chuckwalla proposal. It was in the middle of a workday when many of our opposition members were at work. I heard about it 10 days prior from a government source, as soon as the DOI confirmed the date, time and location.

So, we on the Opposition only had a fraction of the folks there that the proponents had. The Proponents had 600-700 people they brought in from all over the west.

The DOI took control of who would speak, and the public was given only 2 minutes, but Native Americans and Public Officials went first with 3 minutes each and took up over half the 2-hour scheduled meeting. Then the public got its chance. The DOI ensured that all the proponent leadership got a chance to speak. I and most of those with me were never called to speak. They know who I am, and they did not want the DOI leadership from Washington and the State office to hear my concerns. How much could I say in 2 minutes? Obviously they thought it was enough to make them nervous so they ensured I was not called to speak.

After complaining afterwards, the DOI simply said it was a mistake, sign in sheets got shuffled. Could that be true? Maybe, but we have seen this strategy used too many times; silence the opposition and apologize later.

A colleague and I are meeting with the BLM District Manager and JTNP Superintendent in a couple days to go over our issues, and possible mitigation strategies if this proposal comes to fruition. They cannot influence whether this proposal happens, but they may be able to help mitigate the effects, it if does happen.

We will NOT be silenced.