Shoshone Nation Works to Extiquish BLM Torch to 3 Million Acres

Raymond Yowell, Chief of the Western Shoshone National Government, directed Council representatives to meet with the BLM on January 25, 2001 at the BLM Ely office to express the concerns raised by Western Shoshone.

The 20-year Plan addresses the burning of 3.6 million acres of land out of the total 11.7 million acres of land said to be administered by the BLM.Ely District which includes White Pine, Nye, and Lincoln Counties. Almost one-third, or 875,000 of the 2,500,000 acres of pinyon-juniper forest would be destroyed.

Western Shoshone are concerned about the health risks associated with the incineration of radionuclides which may have been deposited in various hot spots in the soil from years of atmospheric and underground nuclear tests. During the period from 1951 to 1963, radioactive releases from the Test Site emitted over 12 billion curies of radioactive material into the atmosphere.

They raised questions about the potential for burning areas sprayed with herbicides and pesticides and associated health risks. The active ingredient in Tordon, commonly used by ranchers, is picloram, also known as Agent White, one of the defoliants used along with Agent Orange in Vietnam. The Shoshone questioned whether certain combinations of herbicide could create a similar toxic substance. Garlon, also known as Triclopyr, has been used by the BLM around Ash Springs. Some of these chemicals produce toxic substances when burned.

Western Shoshone were further concerned about not being contacted by the BLM for input into the Plan. Tribal representatives from Ely and Goshute Tribes had not recieved a copy of the plan until recently and the deadline for appeal passed on December 29, 2000.

No Environmental Justice issues were addressed in the Plan, although the BLM admits that pine nuts are the native food of the Western Shoshone, that sacred sites may be devastated, and that medicinal plants will be destroyed. The BLM included no alternatives to the burns in the Plan.

Penny Frazier

www.pinenut.com

573-674-4567

penny@pinenut.com