In southern Utah, ranger jailed under questionable pretenses
The region has a history of sheriffs butting heads with federal land agencies.
Tay Wiles
March 20, 2016
In early December, a Bureau of Land Management ranger at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument .. had a casual office conversation .. about .. how a holiday party was disrupting his day’s work. Two days later, he was in a Garfield County jail cell ...
... President Bill Clinton used the Antiquities Act to designate as a national monument the 1.8 million acre swath of slickrock, verdant canyons and piñon-juniper mesas. Because of .. the extra level of protection .. many .. locals .. were furious. Most of those individuals still are. That makes being a federal employee a dicey proposition in this isolated area ...
Whether Ellison’s arrest was a form of intimidation or a simple misunderstanding is not yet clear.
During the conversation in question, Ellison brought up improvised explosive devices, the weapon of choice for insurgents trying to do harm to U.S. military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The co-worker apparently was uncomfortable with the banter, and two days later, Ellison’s supervisor called him at home to let him know that he had to apologize. The supervisor also said he’d been informed two sheriff’s deputies were on their way to Ellison’s home ...
http://ewww.hcn.org/articles/blm-ranger-jailed-escalante-ellison-utah-sheriff
