In the hours before sunset on May 20, the Earth’s moon will cross in front of the sun, creating a relatively uncommon annular solar eclipse, last seen in the continental U.S. in 1994. St. George is located just south of the central path of the eclipse and will be a prime viewing area, allowing observers to witness a rare “ring of fire” as the moon covers 95% of the sun.

Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, in partnership with Dixie State College and the Virgin River Program, will be providing astronomer and ranger assisted  viewing opportunities and programs during the eclipse. You are invited to safely enjoy viewing the rare eclipse from the balconies of the Washington County Water Conservation District building located off Red Hills Parkway at 533 E. Waterworks Drive, next to Pioneer Park in St. George. The gates will open at 5:30 p.m. and free solar eclipse viewing glasses will be provided to the first 250 visitors. You may bring your own telescopes, if they have a solar filter and you are welcome to bring a lawn chair for seating. (Please allow some extra time to maneuver through the road construction project on Red Hills Parkway.)

Dixie State College Astronomy Professor Samuel Tobler will set up solar telescopes for safe public viewing and be available to answer any questions. Astronomical displays and programs will also be conducted during the eclipse. The partial solar eclipse begins at 5:58 p.m. and peak annular eclipse viewing will begin at 7:32 p.m., lasting less than five minutes. At the peak, the eclipse will resemble a bulls eye with just a thin ring of sun visible around the moon. The eclipse event will end at sunset.

You can also watch the eclipse on your own from any area with clear views of the western horizon, but remember NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN WITH YOUR NAKED EYE OR THROUGH SUNGLASSES, CAMERA VIEWFINDER, OR ANY FORM OF UNFILTERED MAGNIFICATION! Indirect viewing methods using a simple “pinhole camera” to project an image of the sun onto a piece of paper will also work well.

Remember to keep the solar glasses and use them again to see the transit of Venus across the sun on June 5. The transit will be visible from anywhere in North America and will not occur again until 2117. Please visit www.nature.nps.gov/features/eclipse for the latest eclipse information, which includes safety tips, maps of the eclipse path, a complete list of national parks where the eclipse will be visible, and national parks that will feature public programs about the eclipse.

For more information, download these flyers about the Annular eclipse and the Annular eclipse event.

By Steve Green (contact)

Monday, May 14, 2012 | 4:09 p.m.

See coverage from KSNV-TV

The federal government on Monday filed a trespassing lawsuit against a Southern Nevada rancher who for years has been fighting orders that he remove his cattle from public land.

A lawsuit was filed in federal court in Las Vegas by the U.S. Justice Department, Environmental and Natural Resources Division, against Cliven Bundy of Bunkerville, a town near Mesquite.

The suit seeks a court order blocking Bundy’s “unauthorized and unlawful grazing of livestock” on land administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service.

Despite a court order dating to 1998 requiring Bundy to remove cattle from federal land near Bunkerville, the government contends he has failed to do so and his cattle are now trespassing in a broad territory including the Gold Butte area and lands administered by the Park Service as part of Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

The Overton arm of Lake Mead National Recreation Area and Gold Butte contain “many sensitive and rare plant species that are directly and indirectly affected by unauthorized cattle grazing,” the lawsuit says. The area also has archeological resources that need to be protected, the government says.

Bundy, however, has maintained he has the right to graze hundreds of head of cattle on range land where his family has been running livestock since 1877.

It’s not known when the court will rule on the government’s request that the court order that Bundy’s cattle be removed from the unauthorized areas.

The suit was filed after the Bureau of Land Management canceled plans to round up and remove the cattle last month because of safety concerns. Those concerns related to Bundy vowing to protect his property rights, The Associated Press reported.

Our nearby neighbors in Beaver Dam Wash NCA and Red Cliffs NCA are celebrating and you’re invited! Why not take a wonderful ride over to Tuacahn next Monday afternoon and join in? It’s free!

Click here for more info.

By Jessica Goad – Center for American Progress/Action Fund

A report released yesterday by consulting firm Headwaters Economics continues to shed light on the economic importance of protected public lands to local economies in the American West.

It finds that there were more than four times as many jobs created in non-metro counties with protected public lands compared to those without. This data contradicts the ideological rhetoric of many Republicans seeking to throw open more federal acres to mining and drilling.

As the report states, over 40 years:

Western non-metro counties with more than 30% of lands federally protected increased jobs by 344%.

The chart below shows that from 1970 to 2009 (the most recent data available), the more protected public lands (national parks, national monuments, wilderness areas, etc.) that were in a rural county, the more jobs created.  This compares to only an 80% increase for counties with no protected federally-managed places at all.

In part, this trend occurred because land conservation creates a wide variety of jobs.  In 2010, recreation and tourism spurred 388,000 jobs on Interior Department-managed lands and 224,000 in and around national forests. Echoing these facts, a group of 104 economists sent a letter to the president in November asking him to create jobs by protecting more special places for recreation.

This latest data contradicts the mantra of many western Republican lawmakers, who contend that protected public lands are “locked up” by the government and have no value.  For example, Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forest and Public Lands, has stated:

Contrary to claims by the administration and others, the designation of national monuments and wilderness are not a boon to local economies, but rather a detriment in most scenarios.

That is just plain wrong.

Please attend EPA hearing on Thursday, May 3, 11:30 am at the Moapa Reservation

Tell the EPA that we want the best available technology to clean up Reid Gardner, not the second-rate non-catalytic technology that they and the state of Nevada are trying to put into place. The Sierra Club will have flyers at the hearing with suggested talking points. This is our best opportunity to demonstrate that this plant needs to be cleaned up – now.

Thurs, May 3, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm at the Tribal Center (yes, the coal-burner really is that close to the homes of the Paiutes.)
Public hearing 1-3 pm

How to get to the Reservation:

Take I-15 to exit 90, Glendale/Moapa.
Turn left (west) on Hwy 168; go 4.1 miles.
Turn left (south) on Reservation Road. There will be signs before and at the turn onto Reservation Rd.
Continue .3 mile; the Tribal Center will be on the right.

The address of the Tribal Center on the Moapa Reservation is 1 Lincoln Street, Moapa, NV. It’s about 50 miles from the north end of Las Vegas.

IF YOU CAN’T MAKE THE AFTERNOON SESSION AT THE RESERVATION, you could plan to attend the public hearing in Overton Thursday evening.

Thursday, May 3, at the Overton High School
Open house 5-6 pm
Public hearing 6:30-8:30

Moapa Valley Empowerment High School
2400 St. Joseph Street
Overton, Nevada 89040

I look forward to seeing y’all there!

Jane

Conservation Chair, Southern Nevada Group of the Sierra Club
Energy Chair, Toiyabe Chapter of the Sierra Club

As you may have heard, thanks to your phone calls, e-mails, and contact with the Mesquite’s Mayor and City Council, they voted last night to uphold their support for Gold Butte! Thank you for your hard work to make Mesquite the Gateway to Gold Butte!

Please take a minute to thank Mayor Wier, Councilman Gustaveson, & Councilman Litman TODAY! Feel free to use the sample letter below:

Dear Mayor and Councilmen,

I want to thank you for your leadership and for your vote to uphold Mesquite’s support for a Gold Butte National Conservation Area. I too strongly support a National Conservation Area Designation for the Gold Butte Region. Every year, millions of Americans spend time outdoors and each year the number spending time in Gold Butte increases. I want to thank you too for recognizing that Gold Butte is an economic engine for increasing tourism and visitation to the area. Mesquite is the “Gateway to Gold Butte” and will see increased visitation from tourists drawn to a nationally recognized and protected treasure that a National Conservation Area would create. Thank you for your support of this unique place, right in our backyard.

Here are the e-mail addresses for Mayor Wier & Councilmen Gustaveson and Litman:

• kgustaveson@mesquitenv.gov
• mwier@mesquitenv.gov
• alitman@mesquitenv.gov

Or, feel free to make a phone call to (702) 346-5295. Just give your name and thank Mayor Wier & Councilmen Gustaveson and Litman for their vote in support for Gold Butte.

Thanks again for all you do for Gold Butte!

A very BIG thank you to all who wrote letters, e-mails, called, and attended the Mesquite City Council meeting. It was quite the discussion with an overwhelming majority of those letters, calls, and statements being in support of a Gold Butte NCA. Council had a hard time getting traction on any kind of “rescind” motion, so the resolution stands!

Tomorrow is a critical day for Gold Butte. The Mesquite City Council may revoke their Resolution in support of Gold Butte at their city council meeting tomorrow at 5 p.m. Will you be there to show your support so that doesn’t happen?

We’re writing you because you know how strongly you feel about the value Gold Butte brings to you, your family, and our community. That value will be significantly enhanced with federal designation and the resources that come with that. Studies show that communities near protected public lands benefit economically, helping to sustain property values and attract new investment to the area.

We urge you to attend this meeting, show your support for Gold Butte, and take this terrific opportunity to preserve a part of our heritage which will help Mesquite’s economy and quality of life.

City Council Meeting – April 24th

Mesquite City Hall

10 E. Mesquite Blvd.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012 – 5:00 PM

**Please RSVP by emailing friendsofgoldbutte@gmail.com.

Can you take one more step for Gold Butte? Please take a moment to call Mayor Wier and show your support.  Just give your name and tell him you support long-term protection for Gold Butte. His number is: (702) 346-5295.

Dear Friends,

In case you haven’t heard, the Mesquite City Council may revoke their Resolution in support of Gold Butte at the next council meeting April 24, 2012 at 5 p.m. -  We urge you to attend this meeting, show your support for Gold Butte and take this terrific opportunity to preserve a part of our heritage which will help Mesquite’s economy and quality of life.

City Council Meeting – April 24th

Mesquite City Hall

10 E. Mesquite Blvd.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012 – 5:00 PM

**Please RSVP by emailing friendsofgoldbutte@gmail.com.

One more step for Gold Butte! Please take a moment to call Mayor Weir and show your support.  Just give your name and tell him you support long-term protection for Gold Butte. His number is: (702) 346-5295.

We have just learned that the Mesquite City Council may revoke their Resolution in support of Gold Butte at the next council meeting April 24, 2012 at 5 p.m. – details below. We invite you to attend this meeting, show your support for Gold Butte and take this terrific opportunity to preserve a part of our heritage which will help Mesquite’s economy and quality of life.

Please TAKE ACTION today to protect the resources and visitor experience that is found in Gold Butte.

Mayor Wier and the City Councilmen need to hear from all of us. Please take a moment to send an e-mail to Mesquite’s Mayor Wier using this link: http://www.mesquitenv.gov/Mayor Feel free to use the sample e-mail message below:

Sample message

Dear Mayor Wier – I want you to know that as a resident of Mesquite, I strongly support a National Conservation Area Designation for the Gold Butte Region. As more and more people learn about our backyard treasure it increases the need for more federal resources to ensure visitors have a safe and enjoyable experience in Gold Butte.  Now is the time to make Mesquite the “Gateway to Gold Butte” and capitalize on the economic benefits from protecting this wonderful area, please help make it happen. I urge you to support Gold Butte and oppose any efforts to weaken the City of Mesquite’s support for Gold Butte.

Or simply call:
702-346-5295 – just give your name and tell him you support long-term protection for Gold Butte.

Please send us email  at friendsofgoldbutte@gmail.com to tell us you will be at the City Council Meeting on April 24th to show your support for Gold Butte National Conservation Area.
City Council Meeting – April 24th
Mesquite City Hall
10 E. Mesquite Blvd.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012 – 5:00 PM