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Read the Script WRITER: KEN VERDOIA IT WAS CALLED ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES OF 2004. NESTLED IN THE HEART OF CENTRAL UTAH, IT OFFERS A WINDOW ON THE PAST.RANGE CREEK CANYON CARRIES THE PROMISE OF ANSWERING AGE-OLD QUESTIONS. BUT THIS MAY ALSO BE THE MOST DELICATELY BALANCED LAND IN THE UNITED STATES. DUNCAN METCALFE: IT'S THE COOLEST THING I'VE EVER DONE, AND I SUSPECT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I WILL EVER DO IN MY LIFE. NARRATOR: BUT WITH THE OPPORTUNITY COMES CHALLENGE. . . MELVIN BREWSTER: ESSENTIALLY THEY'RE COMMITTING GENOCIDE AGAINST US. WALDO WILCOX: . .IF RANGE CREEK DON'T MEAN THAT MUCH TO THEM, I'M GOING TO GET EVERY DAMN DIME I CAN. NARRATOR: IN RANGE CREEK CANYON, THE CHALLENGES ARE FOUND ON THE LAND... BENEATH ITS SURFACE...IN CONFLICTING INTERESTS…AND BEHIND THE SCENES. NARRATOR: FIVE HUNDRED YEARS BEFORE COLUMBUS SET FOOT IN THE NEW WORLD, NATIVE CIVILIZATIONS THRIVED IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST. MODERN SOCIETY HAS IDENTIFIED ONE OF THE GROUPS AS THE FREMONT INDIANS. AND FOR FIVE HUNDRED YEARS THEY LIVED IN PARTS OF THE GREAT BASIN AND COLORADO PLATEAU. THEY WERE HUNTERS. . .GATHERERS. . . AND THEY ALSO WERE FARMERS. THEY LEFT DETAILED ART AND SYMBOLS ON THE STONE FACES OF CANYONS THEY INHABITED. THEY STORED THEIR GRAIN HIGH ON CLIFF WALLS IN WELL-BUILT GRANARIES THAT STAND ONE THOUSAND YEARS LATER. AND THEN. . .EIGHT HUNDRED YEARS AGO. . .THE TELL-TALE SIGNS OF THE FREMONTS, AND THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES, SEEMINGLY DISAPPEARED. IN THE LATE-1920S A YOUNG HARVARD ANTHROPOLOGIST WORKED HIS WAY ON HORSEBACK THROUGH THE RUGGED CANYON COUNTRY OF UTAH. SEARCHING AND DIGGING IN CANYON AFTER CANYON, NOEL MORSS RE-DISCOVERED THE ANCIENT LEGACIES OF THE FREMONT. HE RECORDED THE ROCK ART. . .PULLED POTTERY AND BASKETS FROM THE GROUND. BUT, WHEN HE EMERGED, NOEL MORSS WARNED THAT UNDERSTANDING THE FREMONTS WAS HANGING BY A THREAD. LOCAL RESIDENTS WERE LOOTING DWELLING AND BURIAL SITES. . . GRAFFITI WAS BEING SCRATCHED OVER THE ANCIENT SYMBOLS CARVED IN THE ROCK. ONCE GONE, MORSS WARNED, IT WOULD BE LOST FOREVER. . . MORE THAN SEVENTY YEARS AFTER THAT WARNING, UTAH ANNOUNCED THE EXISTENCE OF A PLACE THAT HAD DODGED THE BULLET. THE STATE HAD BOUGHT A RANCH THAT CONTROLLED AN ENTIRE CANYON OF UNTOUCHED FREMONT INDIAN SITES. ARCHEOLOGISTS WERE ALREADY AT WORK SURVEYING THE LA ND OF RANGE CREEK CANYON. . .ABOUT FIFTY AIR MILES EAST OF THE TOWN OF PRICE. AND WHAT THEY FOUND, WAS STAGGERING. RENEE BARLOW: I THINK WE ARE UP TO ABOUT 70 PIT HOUSE VILLAGES NOW, SOME OF THEM FAIRLY SUBSTANTIAL AND THE SHEER NUMBER OF GRAIN STORAGE SITES SUGGEST WE MIGHT HAVE COMMUNITIES UP TO 600 PEOPLE. THAT'S LARGER AND MORE COMPLEX THAN WE THOUGHT FOR AT LEAST THIS PART OF THE FREMONT REGION. DUNCAN METCALFE: AGAIN, I'VE BEEN AN ARCHEOLOGIST FOR CLOSE TO THIRTY YEARS, AND IN THAT PERIOD OF TIME THERES PROBABLY  SIX, EIGHT SITES THAT I'VE FOUND THAT I WAS PRETTY SURE HAD NEVER BEEN WALKED OVER BY ANOTHER ANGLO AND STUFF PICKED UP. SIX TO EIGHT. WE'RE AT ABOUT 295 SITES AT THE MOMENT IN THIS PORTION OF RANGE CREEK CANYON, AND THOSE WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE GATES ARE ALMOST 100 PERCENT PRISTINE. KEVIN JONES: THEY DIDN'T LEAVE LIBRARIES. THEY DIDN'T LEAVE BOOKS. OUR ONLY WAY OF LEARNING ABOUT THEM IS TO SEE THE TRACES THEY LEFT ON THE LANDSCAPE. TO FIND THEIR HOMES THEY LIVED IN. TO FIND THE ART THAT THEY CREATED ON THE WALLS. . . SO THE COMBINATION OF THE CONCENTRATION OF ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES AND THE ABSOLUTE PRISTINE PRESERVATION OF THE SITES MAKES IT REALLY A NATIONAL, PERHAPS INTERNATIONAL TREASURE. WALDO WILCOX: (THOUGHTFUL PAUSE) I WAS GOD, DEVIL AND KING OF ALL OF IT RIGHT HERE. . . NARRATOR: FROM THE FIRST FLASH OF MEDIA COVERAGE OF RANGE CREEK, ATTENTION FOCUSED ON THE MAN WHO HAD BEEN PART OF PROTECTING THE CANYON FOR MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS. OVERNIGHT, WALDO WILCOX BECAME A CELEBRITY. A MAN WHO HAD RESISTED THE TEMPTATION TO PROFIT FROM INDIAN ARTIFACTS. A MAN WHO HAD KEPT PEOPLE FROM ROAMING RANGE CREEK. WALDO WILCOX: WELL AFTER YOU'VE LIVED HERE AS LONG AS I DID YOU'RE ABOUT HALF HERMIT. YOU DON'T YOU DON'T SEE MANY PEOPLE. YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE MANY PEOPLE. NARRATOR: IN THE EARLY-1950S, BUDGE WILCOX BOUGHT LAND IN RANGE CREEK FOR A RANCHING OPERATION. BUDGE AND HIS TWO SONS. . .WALDO AND DON. . . WORKED THE NARROW CANYON. IT WAS AS REMOTE AS LAND CAN GET IN UTAH. . .PROTECTED ON ONE SIDE BY THE BOOK CLIFFS, ON THE OTHER BY THE ROAN CLIFFS. NOW, BOTH OF THOSE ARE WILDERNESS STUDY AREAS. THE ONLY WAY INTO RANGE CREEK CANYON WAS THROUGH THE RANCH GATES OWNED BY THE WILCOX FAMILY. JEANIE JENSEN, THE DAUGHTER OF DON WILCOX, REMEMBERS JUST HOW ISOLATED LIFE WAS, GROWING UP. JEANIE JENSEN: THE ROADS WOULD GET SNOWED IN. THE ONLY ROAD TO TOWN. AND SO WE LIVED THERE YEAR ROUND FOR A FEW YEARS AND IT WAS FUN. WE HAD AN AIRPLANE FROM THE TOWN OF GREEN RIVER THAT WOULD BRING THE MAIL IN ONCE A WEEK AND SUPPLIES, AND SO WE WERE THERE ALL THE TIME. NARRATOR: LARGE HERDS OF TROPHY DEER ROAMED RANGE CREEK BACK THEN, AND IN THE 1960S THE WILCOX FAMILY STARTED A GUIDE SERVICE TO MAKE ENDS MEET. THEY WERE SOON FEATURED IN NATIONAL MAGAZINES. . .AND IT WOULD PLAY A CENTRAL ROLE IN THE FUTURE OF RANGE CREEK CANYON. NARRATOR: THROUGH IT ALL, THE WILCOX FAMILY KNEW THEY WERE LIVING IN THE LAND OF ANCIENTS. AND THE STANDING ORDER IN RANGE CREEK WAS TO LET THE DEAD LIE IN PEACE WALDO WILCOX: …I THINK MY MOTHER AND DAD, BOTH, SHOULD HAVE THE CREDIT FOR IT. BECAUSE WE, MY BROTHER AND I, WE WAS JUST DOIN WHAT THEY TAUGHT US TO DO. JEANIE JENSEN: OH, THEY DID.  THEY INSTILLED THAT IN US VERY YOUNG AGE, NOT TO, YOU KNOW, GET A ROCK AND SCRATCH ON ANY OF THE ROCK ART. YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING DESTRUCTIVE. YOU JUST APPRECIATED IT, AND IT WAS JUST PART OF THE CANYON. IT WAS JUST, JUST BEAUTIFUL. WALDO WILCOX: HE SAID WE DIDN'T OWN THEM DEAD PEOPLE. WE OWNED THE LAND, AND LIKE I SAID BEFORE, I DON'T WANT SOME DAMN HIPPIE DIGGING ME UP AND PICKIN THE GOLD OUT OF MY TEETH WHEN I DIE. NARRATOR: BUT BY THE LATE 1990S, WALDO WILCOX FELT HIS TIME AS THE RANCHING STEWARD OF THIS LAND WAS GROWING SHORT. ENTER DON PEAY. AN AVID OUTDOORSMAN AND UTAH-BASED FOUNDER OF THE SPORTSMEN FOR FISH AND WILDLIFE, PEAY IS A TIRELESS ADVOCATE FOR HUNTERS AND OPEN LAND. HE ALSO HAS FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES. AND WHEN HE HEARD THE WILCOX RANCH WAS UP FOR SALE, HE WENT STRAIGHT TO UTAH CONGRESSMAN JIM HANSEN. DON PEAY: . . .AND I WENT TO JIM AND SAID ‘JIM HERES A UNIQUE PIECE OF GROUND. ITS ONLY ABOUT FOUR THOUSAND ACRES, BUT IT CONTROLS ACCESS AND PUBLIC LAND USE OF ABOUT 75-THOUSAND ACRES. AND I SAID ‘COULD YOU GET A COUPLE OF MILLION DOLLARS FROM CONGRESS, THE LAND AND WATER CONSERVATON FUNDS?’ QUITE FRANKLY, WHEN JIM LEARNED OF THIS HE SAID ‘DON I CAN GET THIS DONE IN TEN MINUTES.’ AND SO WHERE JIM WAS CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE RESOURCE COMMITTEE, HE CAN GET STUFF DONE.” NARRATOR: IT WOULD TAKE MUCH LONGER THAN TEN MINUTES. . .BUT IN DECEMBER OF 2001 WALDO WILCOX SIGNED ON THE DOTTED LINE. AND WHAT FOLLOWED CREATED ONE OF THE MOST COMPLEX LAND MANAGEMENT SCHEMES IN THE HISTORY OF THE WEST. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAD PURCHASED THE LAND. . . BRINGING A RANGE OF FEDERAL AGENCIES TO THE TABLE. WHEN THE LAND WAS TRANSFERRED TO UTAH FOR MANAGEMENT, NATURAL RESOURCE, WILDLIFE, MUSEUM, HISTORY AND ARCHEOLOGY MANAGERS CAME TO THE TABLE AS WELL. AGENCIES, INTERESTS AND AGENDAS THAT HAVE OFTEN BEEN AT ODDS IN THE WEST, NOW FIND THEMSELVES JOINED AT THE HIP IN MANAGING RANGE CREEK CANYON. DERRIS JONES: …ITS BEEN A REAL CHALLENGE , BUT, ON THE OTHER HAND, I’M JUST TRULY AMAZED AT THE COOPERATIVE SPIRIT THAT EVERYBODY'S HAD. NUMBER ONE LETS PROTECT THE CULTURAL RESOURCES AND NUMBER TWO, LETS DO WHAT THE INTENT LANGUAGE OF THE LEGISLATION THAT PROVIDED FOR THE PURCHASE OF THIS WAS FOR, AND THAT WAS FOR WILDLIFE AND PUBLIC ACCESS IN THE CANYON. YOURE RIGHT, ITS BEEN A REAL CHALLENGE.” NARRATOR: ALL OF THE INVOLVED PARTIES PUBLICLY SOUND THE SAME THEME OF COOPERATION. . .BUT THE CHALLENGE OF COMPETING INTERESTS HANGS IN THE AIR OF RANGE CREEK. NARRATOR: SINCE THE FREMONTS LEFT THE CANYON, THE GREATEST PROTECTION AGAINST THE OUTSIDE WORLD HAS BEEN ITS REMOTE LOCATION. INACCESSIBLE BY ROAD UP TO SEVEN MONTHS OF THE YEAR, ARCHEOLOGISTS SCRAMBLE DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND ALL THAT MIGHT BE FOUND IN THE CANYON. THE WORK OF THESE ARCHEOLOGISTS MIGHT SEEM TO LACK DRAMA. . .UNTIL THEY TACKLE THE JOB OF IDENTIFYING SCORES OF STORAGE UNITS DEVISED BY THE FREMONTS TO HOLD ONE OF THEIR PRIMARY FOODS. . . AN EARLY CORN KNOWN AS MAIZE. MOST OF THE GRANARIES ARE MYSTERIOUSLY PERCHED ON CLIFF FACES OR IN SMALL ALCOVES HIGH ABOVE THE CANYON FLOOR. THERE IS NO DISCERNABLE WAY UP. . .SO THE ARCHEOLOGISTS HAVE TAKEN TO GOING DOWN. . . RENEE BARLOW: SO I WANT TO STAY OVER, LEFT OF THE CRACK… NARRATOR: THE UTAH COUNTY SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM PROVIDES SUPPORT FOR ARCHEOLOGISTS WILLING TO RAPPEL INTO THE MOST REMOTE GRANARIES. ONE OF THE MOST WILLING IS DOCTOR RENEE BARLOW. . . RENEE BARLOW: IT DOESN'T GET BETTER THAN THIS! RENEE BARLOW: PRIOR TO THE SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAMS COMING IN, WE WERE RECORDING MOST OF THE CLIFF GRANARIES FROM THE GROUND USING SPOTTING SCOPES AND BINOCULARS AND TRYING TO ESTIMATE SIZE. AND SO WE COULDN'T ACTUALLY ACCESS THEM, SEE WHAT WAS INSIDE OR EVEN GET A REALLY GOOD VIEW OF THEM. SOMETIMES THEY'LL HAVE THREE DIFFERENT PEOPLE ON ROPES AND HARNESSES PULLING US AROUND A CORNER AND INTO A SITE AND BRINGING US IN JUST ABOVE IT SO WE CAN LIFT THE LID ON A GRANARY AND SEE WHAT IS INSIDE AND MAKE A COLLECTION OF CORN OR WOOD OR CHARCOAL AND MATERIAL FOR DATING. WE'VE COLLECTED DATA ON THE SIZE OF THE GRANARIES AND ON THE CONTENTS OF THEM THAT WE NEVER WOULD HAVE HAD.   RENEE BARLOW: WHAT DO YOU THINK, JOHN?  HAVING FUN? JOHN VALENTINE: I'M THINKING THIS IS AWESOME.  THAT IS A GORGEOUS…LOOK AT THAT! IT'S MULTIPLE COLORS! RENEE BARLOW  RB8: ISN';T THAT GREAT? NARRATOR: IT HAS BROUGHT THE ARCHEOLOGISTS THEIR OWN FRIEND IN HIGH PLACES. . .ONE OF THE LEADING MEMBERS OF THE UTAH COUNTY SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM IS JOHN VALENTINE. . .WHO ALSO HAPPENS TO BE PRESIDENT OF THE UTAH STATE SENATE. JOHN VALENTINE: THIS CANYON IS IMPORTANT TO ME BECAUSE IT IS UNTOUCHED. IT ACTUALLY IS ONE OF THOSE PLACES WHERE YOU HAVE NO ONE WHOS BEEN IN HERE AND HAS DISTURBED THE ARCHEOLOGY. AND IT ALLOWS PEOPLE TO ACTUALLY GET A FIRSTHAND GLIMPSE…HERE, IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, OF WHAT IT WAS LIKE THEN.   JOHN VALENTINE OFF CAMERA: GREAT JOB, RENEE.   RENEE BARLOW: THIS IS TOO MUCH FUN!   JOHN VALENTINE: WAY TOO MUCH FUN. GREAT DAY. RENEE BARLOW: IT DOESN';T GET BETTER THAN THAT.  JOHN VALENTINE: IT DOESN'T GET BETTER THAN THIS. RENEE BARLOW: THAT IS ONE OF THE COOLEST DAYS OF MY LIFE.  IT'S ONE OF THOSE ONES THAT YOU DON'T GIVE BACK AND YOU DON'T GET VERY MANY OF.  THAT GRANARY IS AWESOME.  IT'S IDENTICAL TO ABOUT THREE OTHER ONES IN THE CANYON.  AND THEY ARE ALL…EITHER HIDDEN OR ON A CLIFF. CLIMBER: ROCK!  ROCK!!! NARRATOR: WATCHING TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CLIMBING TECHNOLOGY WRESTLE WITH THE STEEP CLIFFS OF RANGE CREEK ADDS TO THE MYSTERY OF THE FREMONTS. HOW DID THEY DO IT? WHY  DID THEY DO IT? RENEE BARLOW: SOME OF THE GRANARIES ARE UNUSUALLY LARGE. THEY'LL HOLD UP TO ONE THOUSAND LITERS OF GRAIN. . .WHICH MEANS DOZENS AND DOZENS OF TRIPS OF BASKETS TO FILL THEM, AND THE LARGEST OF THE GRANARIES ARE ON CLIFF FACES. THEY'RE SITUATED 25, 60 FEET UP IN THE AIR ON A CLIFF FACE THAT'S A QUARTER OF A MILE ABOVE THE CANYON WHERE THEY'RE GROWING THE MAIZE. SO THEY'RE HAULING IT WAY UP AND OUT OF THE WAY AND THEN UP A CLIFF FACE IN ORDER TO SECURE IT. SO IT REALLY LOOKS QUITE DEFENSIVE, LIKE THEY'RE TRYING TO DEFEND THEIR FOOD. NARRATOR: BUT MUCH WORK REMAINS TO BE DONE BEFORE THE QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED WITH ANY CERTAINTY. STUDENT 1: ALL RIGHT, GUYS.  WE'RE GOING TO START OFF THE TOPE, AND START HEADING TO THE SOUTH. NARRATOR: THROUGHOUT THE CANYON TEAMS SCOUR GRIDS ON THE LANDSCAPE. . . LOOKING LIKE INVESTIGATORS WORKING OVER A CRIME SCENE FOR CLUES. MORE THAN THREE HUNDRED SITES HAVE ALREADY BEEN IDENTIFIED. . .AND THAT MAY ONLY BE TEN PERCENT OF WHAT RANGE CREEK HOLDS. STUDENT 1: WHAT DO YOU HAVE, KIRA? STUDENT 2: I THINK I'VE GOT A SITE! STUDENT 3: HEY ANDY, IS THIS A CORE? NARRATOR: THIS GROUP IS WORKING A SITE THAT SHOWS HOW THE SECRETS OF THE CANYON ARE HELD IN SPECIAL WAYS. THEY ARE WORKING NEAR THE REMAINS OF A LARGE PITHOUSE. . .THE PRIMARY DWELLING USED BY THE FREMONTS WHEN THEY OCCUPIED RANGE CREEK. PITHOUSES WERE DUG INTO THE EARTH, LINED WITH STONES TO FORM WALLS. . .AND THEN WOOD BEAMS AND COVERINGS PROVIDED A ROOF.  EACH PITHOUSE IS A POTENTIAL TREASURE TROVE. NARRATOR: AT THIS STAGE THE  INVESTIGATORS ARE MOVING SLOWLY AROUND PITHOUSES. NO DIGGING. . .VERY LITTLE COLLECTING. ELSEWHERE, SURVEY TEAMS SCRAMBLE UP STEEP SLOPES TO THE MORE REMOTE DWELLING SITES. . . LIKE THE ONE LABELED “THE DELUXE APARTMENT IN THE SKY.” HIGH ABOVE THE CANYON FLOOR. EVERYWHERE THERE ARE SIGNS OF THE FREMONT. STUDENT 1: THIS IS JUST YOUR BASIC, PRETTY STANDARD BI-FACE.  LOOKS LIKE HE JUST GAVE UP ON IT FOR SOME REASON.  LIKE I SAID, IT LOOKS LIKE HE STOPPED WORKING IT YESTERDAY. THERE'S NO EDGE WEAR ON IT…IT'S A COOL LITTLE PIECE. STUDENT 2: THIS IS SO AMAZING.  YOU CAN SEE THE FINGERPRINTS OF THE PERSON THAT MADE THIS ALL THE WAY BACK INTO HERE.  IT'S REALLY AMAZING. NARRATOR: IF THEY DIG DOWN, THE DWELLING WILL LIKELY SURRENDER TRADEMARK FREMONT POTTERY. . . WHOLE WOVEN BASKETS. . .AND NO DOUBT THE SMALL CLAY FIGURINES UNIQUE TO THE FREMONT CULTURE. THE FREMONT THEMSELVES LIE BENEATH THE SURFACE. STUDENT: IT'S JUST A REALLY SMALL BURNED FRAGMENT OF CORN COB.  THERE'S LOTS OF IT AROUND. NARRATOR: BUT NO ONE CARRIES A SHOVEL, AND NO ONE POCKETS THE ARROWHEADS THAT LITTER THE GROUND. THE STANDING ORDER: “GO SLOW.” NARRATOR: THE STUDENTS RETURN EACH EVENING TO THE FORMER RANCH HOUSES OF WALDO WILCOX, AND USE COMPUTERS TO PLOT THE SITES AND CHART THE LAND. STUDENT: SO, WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS WE WANT TO TAKE ALL THE DATA WE GOT OFF THAT SITE  TODAY, AND INPUT IT INTO OUR NICE DATABASE. NARRATOR: THE PRESENCE OF COMPUTERS, OF CONSTRUCTING DATA BASES IS A STARK REMINDER OF HOW ARCHEOLOGY HAS EVOLVED IN THE PAST CENTURY. SCIENTISTS ARE NOW ABLE TO TEST AND DATE OBJECTS WITH AN ACCURACY THAT DID NOT EXIST EVEN ONE GENERATION AGO. NARRATOR: THE ARCHEOLOGISTS OF RANGE CREEK HAVE SECURED A GRANT FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION FOR THEIR WORK IN DENDROCHRONOLOGY. LITERALLY, THE ABILITY TO DATE WOOD USED BY THE FREMONTS IN THEIR BUILDING OF DWELLINGS AND GRANARIES TEN CENTURIES AGO. THE RESULTS CAN ALLOW SCIENTISTS NEARLY PINPOINT ACCURACY IN DETERMINING WHEN THE FREMONTS FLOURISHED. IT MAY ALSO HELP EXPLORE ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING SECRETS LOCKED IN THIS CANYON. WHAT LED TO THE FREMONTS DISAPPEARING FROM THIS LAND? SCIENTIFIC TESTING ABILITY IS RACING FORWARD, AND NO ONE CAN FORECAST WHAT ABILITIES MAY EXIST FIFTY YEARS FROM NOW. BUT EVEN THE MOST SOPHISTICATED TESTING IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE SITE TO BE TESTED. KEVIN JONES: MY VISION OF RANGE CREEK IS THAT IN ANOTHER ONE HUNDRED YEARS IT WOULD STILL BE A VERY PRISTINE PLACE. THE ARCHEOLOGY WOULD STILL BE VERY ACCESSIBLE AND UNDISTURBED AND UNDAMAGED. DUNCAN METCALFE: I NEVER EXPECTED TO HAVE THAT KIND OF AN OPPORTUNITY. TYPICALLY WHAT I DO WHEN I RUN FIELD SCHOOLS IS I'M RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE BULLDOZER. SO I EITHER EXCAVATE IT, OR ITS GOING TO DISAPPEAR. AND THEN, NEXT YEAR, I'M IN ANOTHER PART OF THE STATE AND THE NEXT YEAR I'M IN ANOTHER PART OF THE STATE. HERE, WE CAN ACTUALLY BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT ‘SHOULD THIS SITE BE EXCAVATED THIS YEAR, OR SHOULD WE WAIT FIFTY YEARS TO EXCAVATE IT?’ NARRATOR: BEFORE RANGE CREEK, UTAH'S TWO MOST SIGNIFICANT ARCHEOLOGICAL PROJECTS WERE, IN FACT, DRIVEN BY BULLDOZERS. . . OR AT LEAST RISING WATER. IN THE LATE 1950'S CONSTRUCTION OF THE GLEN CANYON DAM ON THE COLORADO RIVER WAS SET TO FLOOD HUNDREDS OF SITES OF THE ANCIENT NATIVES SOMETIMES CALLED ANASAZI. WITH A RUSH ORDER, TEAMS FROM UTAH AND ARIZONA DESCENDED ON THE RIVER. . . SCRAMBLING TO DOCUMENT THE SITES BEFORE THEY WERE LOST, AND PULLING THOUSANDS OF ARTIFACTS AWAY FROM THE RISING WATER. ONE OF THE YOUNG RESEARCHERS WAS DON FOWLER. DON FOWLER: UNDER FEDERAL LAW DATING BACK TO THE 1920S, EVERY TIME THE GOVERNMENT BUILT A BIG DAM, ESPECIALLY BUILT A BIG DAM, BEGINNING IN THE MISSISSIPPI DRAINAGE AND THEN THE OTHER RIVERS, THERE WERE LAWS THAT SAID YOU HAD TO SALVAGE THE ARCHEOLOGY, THE HISTORY, THE ECOLOGY BEFORE THE PROJECT WAS BUILT. THIS JUST HAPPENED TO BE THE BIGGEST ONE THAT HAD EVER BEEN DONE AT THAT TIME. NARRATOR: IT WAS DANGEROUS, BACK-BREAKING WORK UNDER THE MOST DIFFICULT CONDITIONS. AND ALL THE WHILE THE CLOCK WAS TICKING. DON FOWLER: A RACE AGAINST TIME, BECAUSE THE GATES WERE GOING TO CLOSE ON THE DAM IN 1963. WE HAD TO BE FINISHED. WE HAD TO DO EVERYTHING WE WERE GOING TO DO BY THAT TIME. THAT, IN TURN, DETERMINED EVERYTHING THAT WE DID. NARRATOR: THE GOVERNMENT DECLARED THE SALVAGE PROJECT A SUCCESS. HUNDREDS OF GLEN CANYON ARTIFACTS NOW HAVE A PERMANENT PLACE IN THE COLLECTION OF THE UTAH MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. BUT IT WAS A SALVAGE PROJECT.  AND ARCHEOLOGISTS SAY SO MUCH MORE COULD HAVE BEEN LEARNED FROM ONE-OF-A-KIND LOCATIONS IF THE PROJECT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DRIVEN BY A STOP WATCH. NARRATOR: BEFORE THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF RANGE CREEK, UTAH'S BIGGEST PROJECT INVOLVING THE FREMONT INDIANS WAS DRIVEN BY THE CONSTRUCTION OF A HIGHWAY. AS BULLDOZERS MOVED FORWARD IN A FINAL PHASE OF CONSTRUCTION OF INTERSTATE-SEVENTY SOUTH OF RICHFIELD, UTAH IN THE EARLY 1980S, ENGINEERS STUMBLED ON THE REMAINS OF THE LARGEST FREMONT INDIAN VILLAGE EVER DISCOVERED. BOB HANOVER: AND IT WAS ON THIS HILL THAT YOU SEE BEHIND ME HERE RIGHT NOW, JUST ACROSS I-70. THE HILL ITSELF ACTUALLY EXTENDED TO WHERE I-70 IS, BUT WHEN THE INTERSTATE WAS CONSTRUCTED, A LARGE PORTION OF FIVE FINGER RIDGE WAS REMOVED FOR THE INTERSTATE. THE NEGATIVE OF COURSE, IS THAT THE VILLAGE IS GONE. AND IT WAS AN IMPORTANT ARCHEOLOGICAL AND NATIVE AMERICAN RESOURCE. THE POSITIVES WERE THAT WE GOT TO LEARN SO MUCH MORE THROUGH THIS IN-DEPTH EXCAVATION THAN WE NORMALLY GET TO DO. AND SO LEARNED MORE ABOUT THE FREMONT LIFE WAYS AND VILLAGES AND CULTURE THAN WE EVER WOULD HAVE OTHERWISE. NARRATOR: UTAH CREATED THE FREMONT INDIAN STATE PARK TO HOUSE THE ARTIFACTS THAT WERE SALVAGED FROM FIVE FINGER RIDGE. BUT NOW, RANGE CREEK DWARFS THE SIZE OF FIVE FINGER RIDGE. AND WITHOUT BULLDOZERS MOVING UP THE CANYON, THE LEAD ARCHEOLOGIST THINKS UTAH FINALLY HAS A CHANCE TO LEARN FROM THE FREMONTS WITHOUT THE NEED TO GRAB AND DASH. . . DUNCAN METCALFE: WHEN YOU EXCAVATE A SITE YOU DESTROY A SITE. IT CANNOT BE RE-EXCAVATED. AND THERE ARE X NUMBER OF FREMONT SITES. THE WONDERFUL THING ABOUT RANGE CREEK IS THERE'S POTENTIAL FOR US TO SET-UP A LONG TERM RESEARCH DESIGN THAT TAKES ADVANTAGE BOTH OF AN EVOLVING CHARACTER OF ARCHEOLOGY AS A SCIENCE, AND A COHERENCE A CONTINUITY THAT PROBABLY HAS NEVER OCCURRED BEFORE IN THIS PARTICULAR REGION OF THE WORLD. KEVIN JONES: TIME IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE, BUT WE NEED TO USE IT CAREFULLY. WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THESE SITES ARE NOT DAMAGED BY OTHER REASONS. IT DOESN’T APPEAR THAT THERE ARE BULLDOZERS AT THE DOOR RIGHT NOW, BUT WE CAN’T SEE INTO THE FUTURE. NARRATOR: DAY-IN AND DAY-OUT THE UTAH DIVISION OF WILDLIFE HAS A POLICE PRESENCE IN RANGE CREEK. OFFICER MARK CONNOLLY HELPS GUIDE THE OCCASIONAL MISGUIDED TOURIST. . . BUT HE IS FOR A MORE IMPORTANT REASON: TO PROTECT THE CANYON FROM ITS MOST IMMINENT THREAT---A THREAT MORE SERIOUS THAN BULLDOZERS. MARK CONNOLLY: FROM LOOTERS. THERES A PRETTY GOOD MARKET FOR SELLING THESE ANTIQUITIES AND MY SOLE JOB IS TO KEEP THAT FROM HAPPENING. INVESTIGATE ANY POSSIBLE LEADS OR ANYBODY THAT MIGHT BE TRYING TO LOOT ANY OF THESE SITES. NARRATOR: WHILE ARCHEOLOGISTS ARE GOING SLOW IN RANGE CREEK. . .UTAH HAS A LONG HISTORY OF THEFT AND DESECRATION AT ANCIENT NATIVE AMERICAN SITES ON PUBLIC LAND. FAST-MOVERS WHO DIG. . .GRAB. . . AND RUN. FEDERAL LAWS PROHIBITING SO-CALLED POT HUNTING HAVE BEEN ON THE BOOKS FOR ONE HUNDRED YEARS. . .AND HAVE BEEN IGNORED FOR NEARLY AS LONG. FEW UNDERSTAND THE ISSUE FROM THE GROUND UP BETTER THAN RUDY MAULDIN. HE IS AN INVESTIGATING SPECIAL AGENT FOR THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT. RUDY MAULDIN: IN THE STATE OF UTAH BLM OWNS ABOUT 22 MILLION ACRES. THEY MANAGE ABOUT 22 MILLION ACRES, THAT'S ABOUT 48% OF THE STATE. BUT THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATORS, THE SPECIAL AGENTS SUCH AS MYSELF, BLM ACTUALLY HAS THREE NOW. DETECTABILITY IN THIS RURAL AREA IS NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE. NARRATOR: MAULDIN GUIDES US TO AN ALL-TOO-TYPICAL SITE IN SOUTHEASTERN UTAH. ANCIENT NATIVE TRIBES LIVED HERE FOR SOME SEVEN HUNDRED YEARS, MAKING THEIR HOMES IN QUIET ALCOVES. BUT WHAT MIGHT BE A KEY TO THE PAST IS NOW WORTHLESS. . .TORN APART BY LOOTERS AND VANDALS. RUDY MAULDIN: WHAT HAPPENS IS THEY HAVE COME IN, THEY HAVE EXCAVATED THE SOFT SOIL, THEY HAVE PUSHED OVER THE WALLS. THEY HAVE DEFACED THE ROCK BLUFFS, THE PICTOGRAPHS ARE PAINTED OVER, THE PETROGLYPHS THERE IS CHISELING BEEN ADD TO THEM. IT WOULD BE OUTRAGEOUSLY DIFFICULT, MAYBE IMPOSSIBLE, TO COME IN AND SCIENTIFICALLY EVALUATE THIS SITE AND GET MUCH BENEFIT OUT OF IT, BECAUSE OF THE DAMAGE BROUGHT HERE BY THOSE THAT CARE LESS ABOUT THE RESOURCE. NARRATOR: MAULDIN DISLIKES TALKING ON CAMERA ABOUT THE FACT THAT THE LOOTERS EXHUME THE SKELETAL REMAINS THAT WERE BURIED HERE. ANCIENTS OFTEN BURIED SPECIAL CEREMONIAL BASKETS AND POTTERY WITH THEIR DEAD. AND THESE ARE PRIME GOODS TO MOVE ON THE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR BLACKMARKET IN ANTIQUITIES THAT EXISTS IN THE NATION. IN THE 1990S THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE FOR UTAH MADE A DECISION TO CRACK DOWN ON THE RAMPANT LOOTING THAT WAS STRIPPING CULTURAL RESOURCES FROM THE LAND. FORMER NARCOTICS PROSECUTOR WAYNE DANCE WAS PUT IN CHARGE. AND, IN SHORT ORDER, HE HAD THE HIGHEST PROFILE CASE IN STATE HISTORY IN THE FORM OF EARL K. SHUMWAY. WAYNE DANCE: ALTHOUGH EARL SHUMWAY HAD BEEN DOING A GREAT DEAL OF DAMAGE TO THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF UTAH IN PARTICULAR AND THE FOUR CORNERS AREA SINCE HE WAS VERY YOUNG, HE REALLY BECAME A NATIONAL FIGURE, IF YOU WILL, IN THE ‘80S WHEN HE LOOTED A CACHE OF OVER THIRTY PREHISTORIC BASKETS AND SOLD THEM FOR CONSIDERABLE AMOUNTS OF MONEY. AND HE WAS APPREHENDED AND PROSECUTED FOR THAT CRIME. NARRATOR: TO GAIN A SENSE OF WHAT SHUMWAY PULLED OFF IN JUST ONE HAUL, ITS HELPFUL TO VISIT THE “EDGE OF THE CEDARS” MUSEUM IN BLANDING, UTAH. HERE YOU CAN VIEW THE LOOTED BASKETS THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT WAS ABLE TO RETRIEVE. THEY FORM AN INFAMOUS EARL SHUMWAY COLLECTION. ONE BASKET ALONE IS VALUED AT OVER ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS. RUDY MAULDIN: IT WAS A CACHE OF BASKETS. THE BASKET GROUP HELPED ESTABLISH ACTUALLY THE MARKET FOR BASKETS IN THE SOUTHWEST, THERE WERE SO MANY IN PRISTINE CONDITION. THAT PARTICULAR BASKET THAT WE DISCUSSED WAS REFERRED TO AS A FIDDLE, FIDDLER BASKET. IT WAS IN THE SHAPE OF A VIOLIN AND THAT WAS ASSESSED AT 126-THOUSAND DOLLARS BACK IN THE 1980S. NARRATOR: LARGE PORTIONS OF THE EDGE OF THE CEDARS COLLECTION ARE, IN FACT, CONFISCATIONS THAT WERE FORFEITED TO THE MUSEUM. . .MANY ARE ON LOAN AFTER BEING REPATRIATED TO NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES. BUT IT REPRESENTS ONLY A FRACTION OF THE POTTERY, BASKETS AND ARTIFACTS STOLEN OVER TIME. AND THE CHANCE FOR A BIG PAYDAY KEEPS LOOTERS ACTIVE, OVERSHADOWING THE SMALL RISK OF GETTING CAUGHT. EVEN EARL SHUMWAY'S 1980S ARREST DIDN'T SLOW HIM DOWN. WAYNE DANCE: HE WENT RIGHT BACK TO THE SAME TYPE OF LOOTING THAT HE'D ALWAYS DONE. NARRATOR: SHUMWAY WAS EVEN A WILLING PARTICIPANT IN A 1987 UTAH TELEVISION DOCUMENTARY, DOWNPLAYING THE RISK OF BEING CAUGHT. EARL SHUMWAY: A MILLION TO ONE.  THEY MIGHT FIND PEOPLE THAT COME FROM OUT OF STATE THAT HAVE NEVER DONE IT BEFORE AND HAVE HEARD ABOUT IT ON THE NEWS OR IN MAGAZINES.  YOU KNOW, THEY MAY FIND SOMEBODY THAT'S IN THE CAVES KNOCKING THE WALLS DOWN, A TOURIST OR SOMETHING...AND GET THEM.  BUT THEY'RE NOT GONNA CATCH ANYBODY DIGGING THAT'S BEEN DOING IT. NARRATOR: BUT IN THE MID-1990S EARL SHUMWAY MADE ONE SMALL MISTAKE WHILE WORKING A SITE. RUDY MAULDIN MADE THE BREAKTHROUGH WHILE TRYING TO PUT A LOOTED LOCATION BACK TOGETHER. RUDY MAULDIN: I BEGAN TO SIFT THE TAILINGS PILE THAT HE HAD DUG. AND WITHIN THE TAILINGS PILE I FOUND ONE CIGARETTE BUTT. NARRATOR: D-N-A TESTING PROVED EARL SHUMWAY HAD SMOKED THE CIGARETTE. SOPHISTICATED SOIL TESTING PROVED THAT IT HAD BEEN TOSSED ASIDE WHILE THE LOCATION WAS BEING LOOTED. HE WAS PROSECUTED BY WAYNE DANCE UNDER THE NEW ARCHEOLOGICAL RESOURCES PROTECTION ACT. . .KNOWN AS ARPA. . .WHICH CREATED A FELONY CLASS FOR LOOTING HISTORICAL SITES. WAYNE DANCE: AND SO WHEN HE WAS ULTIMATELY CONVICTED AND SENTENCED, HE RECEIVED THE LONGEST PRISON SENTENCE OF ANY LOOTER IN THE HISTORY OF BOTH ARPA AND THIS COUNTRY'S FEDERAL LAWS PROTECTING THESE RESOURCES. NARRATOR: THE U-S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FOR UTAH NOW LEADS THE NATION IN PROSECUTIONS FOR LOOTING. . .AND WAYNE DANCE TRAVELS THE NATION SHARING THE LESSIONS LEARNED WITH LAWYERS AND INVESTIGATORS. WAYNE DANCE: ARCHEOLOGICAL RESOURCES, CULTURAL RESOURCES, ARE ONE OF A KIND. THEY'RE IRREPLACEABLE. AND EVERY TIME SOMEONE GOES OUT AND LOOTS OR DAMAGES THESE RESOURCES, ITS GONE FOREVER. AND SO THIS IS A VERY UNIQUE TYPE OF CRIME, VERY SERIOUS BECAUSE THE CONSEQUENCES ARE FOREVER. RUDY MAULDIN: IN SPITE OF WHAT PEOPLE SAY IS IMPORTANT OR UNIMPORTANT ABOUT THIS SITE, IT IS INHERENTLY WRONG AND EVIL TO DIG UP PEOPLE AND THE RICHES THEY ARE BURIED WITH. THAT'S JUST SIMPLY WRONG. THOSE HAVE TO BE PROTECTED. IT'D BE NO DIFFERENT THAN SOMEONE EXHUMING SOMEONE RIGHT OUT OF YOUR FAMILY. THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN WHERE THEY REST. THEY SHOULD NOT BE DISINTERRED. NARRATOR: LOOTERS POSE A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER TO RANGE CREEK. MARK CONNOLLY: THIS LOCATION COULD DEFINITELY BE AT RISK. THERE ARE SITES ON THE INTERNET NOW WHERE THERES FREMONT ARTIFACTS BEING SOLD, AND THERE IS ALWAYS A CHANCE THAT SOMEBODY'S GOING TO COME IN AND TAKE SOME OF THESE ARTIFACTS. KEVIN JONES: ITS NOT A VIRTUAL CERTAINTY, IT IS A CERTAINTY. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IN THIS CANYON IS GO OUTSIDE THE GATE THAT WAS PROTECTED BY WALDO WILCOX. THE PITHOUSES ARE DUG OUT THE SURFACE ARTIFACTS ARE ALL GONE. BUT INSIDE THE PROTECTED AREA ITS DIFFERENT SITUATION. THOSE SITES ARE MUCH AS THEY HAVE EXISTED FOR THE LAST THOUSAND YEARS. NARRATOR: AND SO THE GATES OF RANGE CREEK ARE SECURELY LOCKED. . .COUPLING WITH THE REMOTE LOCATION AND A PATROL PRESENCE TO KEEP LOOTERS OUT. BUT CAN LOCKS REMAIN ON THE GATES FOR LONG? THIS IS, AFTER ALL, PUBLIC LAND. KEVIN JONES: KIND OF THE WAY I THINK OF IT IS THAT WE'VE BEEN GIVEN THE KEYS TO A VAST LIBRARY. A LIBRARY FULL OF UNREAD, ONE OF A KIND BOOKS, AND OUR CITIZENS HAVE A GREAT INTEREST IN WHATS IN THOSE BOOKS. BUT IF WE JUST OPEN THE DOORS AND LET EVERYBODY START THUMBING THROUGH THEM, THEY WOULD FALL APART. THEY WOULD BE DESTROYED. NARRATOR: JONES AND OTHERS POINT ONE CANYON NORTH FOR A LESSON ON WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN THE PUBLIC STREAMS INTO AN ANCIENT LOCATION. WITH THE BEST OF INTENTIONS, NINE MILE CANYON HAS BEEN LOVED TO DEATH. NINE MILE CANYON WAS A POPULATION CENTER AND PASS-THROUGH POINT FOR THE FREMONT INDIANS. ROCK ART IS EASILY ACCESSED, AND SMALL CAVES AND ALCOVES ARE ONE-THOUSAND YEAR OLD DWELLINGS. A WELL-MAINTAINED ROAD RUNS THROUGH NINE-MILE CANYON, AND FOR 150 YEARS ITS SEEN A STEADY STREAM OF PEOPLE. BLAINE MILLER IS AN ARCHEOLOGIST WITH THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT. HE SAYS, EVEN WITH THE BEST OF INTENTIONS, IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE IS DONE. BLAINE MILLER: THIS IS ONE OF THE GOOD EXAMPLES OF A SITE THAT'S BEING LOVED TO DEATH. PEOPLE GO, CLIMB OVER THIS ROCK ART HERE, GET CLOSER TO IT, AND THE KIDS JUST LOVE TO PLAY ON THIS BOULDER AND SLIDING DOWN THE BOULDER YOU CAN SEE HOW IT HAS POLISHED THE BOULDER AND IN SOME PLACES OBLITERATED THE ROCK ART. RIGHT DOWN HERE WE HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF SOMEBODY TRYING TO CHIP THE ROCK ART PANEL OFF THE ROCK WITH A CHISEL. AND BEHIND THAT IS WHERE THEY'VE WRITTEN A MESSAGE OVER THE TOP OF PREHISTORIC ROCK ART. THROUGHOUT THE CAVE THERES NUMEROUS EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE WRITING THEIR NAMES AND DATES WHEN THEY WERE HERE. A GOOD SHARE OF THE INFORMATION THAT THIS SITE ONCE HAD ABOUT THE PEOPLE THAT LIVED HERE, NOT ONLY THE FREMONT, BUT THE PEOPLE BEFORE AND THE PEOPLE AFTER, THE EVIDENCE THAT IS HERE IS JUST A LITTLE PIECE OF A COUPLE OF PAGES OF THAT WHOLE STORY BOOK, IS ALL THAT'S LEFT. MOST OF IT HAS BEEN REMOVED, AND WE WILL NEVER KNOW WHAT IT IS. NARRATOR: RIGHT NOW MANAGERS OF RANGE CREEK ARE AVOIDING THE IMPACT OF THE PUBLIC BY TIGHTLY CONTROLLING ACCESS. TWENTY-EIGHT PEOPLE ARE ALLOWED EACH DAY TO WALK IN RANGE CREEK CANYON. . .IF THEY ARE ISSUED A PERMIT IN ADVANCE BY THE DIVISION OF WILDLIFE RESOURCES. NO ONE MAY WALK UP UNANNOUNCED, AND NO CARS ARE ALLOWED THROUGH THE GATE FOR VISITORS. IT'S A TOUGH, DRY HIKE. THERE ARE NO SIGNS GUIDING VISITORS TO ANY LOCATION, NO EXPLANATIONS, AND NO SERVICES. MARK CONNOLLY: SO FAR THE PEOPLE I'VE TALKED TO THAT HAVE BEEN IN THE CANYON ARE SOMEWHAT DISAPPOINTED, BECAUSE THEY ARE EXPECTING TO SEE VILLAGES LIKE IN CHACO CANYON OR MESA VERDE, AND IT JUST ISN'T THAT KIND OF VILLAGES HERE. . . NARRATOR: BUT EVEN IF RANGE CREEK LACKS THE DRAMA TO SERVE AS A TOURIST MAGNET. . .THERE IS A CLEAR SENSE THAT  PUBLIC ACCESS IS IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE. JOHN VALENTINE: THIS CANYON WILL BE A MULTIPLE USE AREA. PEOPLE WILL BE ABLE TO COME IN SEE ARCHEOLOGY AT WORK, BE ABLE TO COME IN AND USE OTHER PARTS OF IT FOR HUNTING. WE'VE GOT AREAS IN THE TOP AREA OF THIS CANYON THAT HAVE BEEN UNTOUCHED FOR HUNTING THAT CAN BE TROPHY HUNTING. THAT'S WHY THE DIVISION OF WILDLIFE RESOURCES IS ACTUALLY MANAGING THIS CANYON, BECAUSE OF THE GREAT POTENTIAL FOR HUNTING IN THIS AREA AS WELL. DON PEAY: THE CONGRESSIONAL INTENT LANGUAGE IS VERY CLEAR THAT WILDLIFE HABITAT AND PUBLIC ACCESS, THE HUNTING AND FISHING ASPECTS ARE CLEARLY SPELLED OUT. SO LETS GET THE PLACE SECURED, BUT THEN, WE'RE GOING TO MAKE SURE WE GET GOOD HABITAT MANAGEMENT AND GOOD ACCESS FOR PUBLIC RECREATION AS WELL. DERRIS JONES: THE ARCHEOLOGISTS CAME INTO THIS CANYON AND SAYS “OH LOOK, WHAT A PRISTINE UNTOUCHED ARCHEOLOGICAL FIND WE HAVE HERE. THE WILDLIFE HABITAT IS ALMOST THE REVERSE. ITS GOING TO TAKE SOME WORK AND THE CHALLENGE THAT’S GOING TO COME TO US IS THIS WORK IS GOING TO REQUIRE IMMENSE COOPERATION WITH THE CULTURAL RESOURCES CAUSE THE KIND OF THINGS WE NEED TO DO IS WE NEED TO TURN SOME DIRT. NARRATOR: “TURN SOME DIRT” MEANS CLEARING THE OLD WILCOX FARMING FIELDS OF  WEEDS AND OVER-GROWTH. . .AND RESEEDING WITH PLANTS THAT CAN FEED ELK, DEER AND OTHER WILDLIFE. THAT COULD MEAN THE USE OF CHAINING—THE DRAGGING OF HEAVY CHAINS ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE TO TEAR OUT THE OLD GROWTH. . .A PRACTICE THAT ARCHEOLOGISTS CAMPAIGN AGAINST BECAUSE OF THE POTENTIAL FOR DESTRUCTION OF SITES. BUT DON PEAY. . .WHOSE LOBBYING BROUGHT FEDERAL MONEY TO THE TABLE FOR THE PURCHASE OF RANGE CREEK. . .SAYS MULTIPLE USE AND BALANCE MEANS JUST THAT. DON PEAY: THERES SOME PLACES ARE GOING TO BE ARCHEOLOGICAL FINDS, AND WE PROTECT THOSE AND DON'T CHAIN THEM. OTHER PLACES THERE NOTHING THERE LETS GO CHAIN THEM AND MAKE IT FOR WILDLIFE. WE'RE NOT ASKING TO HUNT 365 DAYS, BUT IN A TWO OR THREE WEEK PERIOD IN THE FALL, HUNTERS SHOULD HAVE SOME OPPORTUNITY TO GO IN THERE AND MAYBE THE ARCHEOLOGISTS DON’T COME IN DURING THAT PERIOD. ONCE AGAIN. HERES A TIME FOR ARCHEOLOGY. HERES A TIME FOR FAMILY CAMPING. HERES A TIME FOR HUNTING. AND A LOT OF THESE ACTIVITIES CAN TAKE PLACE SIMULTANEOUSLY AS WELL. NARRATOR: BUT IF IT SEEMS TO BE A CHALLENGING BALANCING ACT, IT PALES IN COMPARISON TO THE CONCERNS OF A GROUP WHO FEEL THEY HAVE A PRIMARY STAKE IN RANGE CREEK, BUT HAVE BEEN LEFT OUT OF THE PROCESS. WHEN THE RANGE CREEK STORY BROKE IN THE SUMMER OF 2004, THERE WAS NO TRACE OF NATIVE AMERICAN INVOLVEMENT. FORREST CUCH: UNFORTUNATELY, I LEARNED ABOUT IT THE SAME TIME EVERYONE ELSE DID, IN THE NEWSPAPER AND I DISTINCTLY RECALL CUTTING OUT THE ARTICLE, BRINGING IT TO THE OFFICE AND COPYING IT AND FAXING IT TO THE TRIBES WITH A NOTATION THAT I DISCOVERED THIS IN THE PAPER THE SAME TIME AS EVERYONE ELSE. MELVIN BREWSTER: AND WHAT HAPPENED WAS THAT THE NORTHWEST BAND, THE SKULL VALLEY GOSHUTES, THE NORTHERN UTES AND THE SOUTHERN PIUTES THEY BECAME ALARMED THAT THE STORY HAD COME OUT NATIONALLY AND THEY WERE ADVERTISING ARTIFACTS AND THEY WERE ADVERTISING THIS LAND EXCHANGE AND THERE WAS ABOLSUTELY NO NATIVE AMERICAN CONSULTATION WHATSOEVER. NARRATOR: RANGE CREEK CANYON MAY EVENTUALLY RESOLVE A LONG-STANDING CONTROVERSY. MANY SCIENTISTS HAVE REASONED THAT THERE IS NO DIRECT LINK BETWEEN ANCIENT PEOPLE LIKE THE FREMONT AND CONTEMPORARY NATIVE AMERICANS. BUT SEVERAL NATIVE TRIBES CLAIM THE FREMONT AS DIRECT ANCESTORS. THEY SAY THAT LINEAGE GIVES THEM A RIGHTFUL ROLE IN DETERMINING WHAT HAPPENS IN LOCATIONS SUCH AS RANGE CREEK. ONE OF THE MOST BLUNT ASSESSMENTS COMES FROM MELVIN BREWSTER, A NATIVE AMERICAN ARCHEOLOGIST WHO HAS CONSULTED WITH UTAH TRIBES. MELVIN BREWSTER: SO WHEN THE MAINSTREAM CULTURE MEMBERS CAME IN THERE AND THEY STARTED POKING AROUND AT THE ARCHEOLOGY AND DOING WHAT THEY DO MATERIALISTICALLY WITHOUT SPIRIT, THEY WERE ESSENTIALLY DESECRATING WHAT WAS LEFT AS OUR INHERITANCE AS NATIVE AMERICANS. THEY WERE DESCRATING OUR INHERITANCE AND THEY WERE DESCRATING THE FUTURE OF OUR CHILDREN. IN EFFECT, THEY WERE COMMITTING GENOCIDE ON THEM. NARRATOR: BREWSTER HAS BEEN TO RANGE CREEK, AND PROCLAIMS IT A SACRED PLACE WHICH CONTAINS CONNECTIONS TO A SPIRITUAL WORLD. HE ALSO SAYS ARCHEOLOGISTS WHO ARE NOT NATIVE ARE MISREADING MUCH OF THE MEANING OF RANGE CREEK. FOR EXAMPLE, HE SAYS THE GRANARIES LOCATED HIGH ON CLIFF WALLS ARE, IN FACT, PRAYER OFFERINGS. HE SCOFFS AT THE NOTION THAT ITS PEOPLE DEFENDING THEIR FOOD. MELVIN BREWSTER: BUT IN ORDER TO HONOR THE ARCHEOLOGY IN A GOOD WAY, THE STATE OF UTAH AND THE BLM AND THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH THEY NEED TO BRING IN NATIVE CONSULTANTS THAT ARE VERY WELL EXPERIENCED IN WORKING WITH THE SPIRIT. THEY ALSO NEED TO INCORPORATE NATIVE THOUGHT INTO THEIR RESEARCH DESIGNS AND MODELING OF WHATS GOING ON AT THOSE SITES. IF THEY DON'T DO THAT, THEY ARE COMMITTING GENOCIDE UPON THE NATIVE PEOPLE. . . DUNCAN METCALFE: I'M A SCIENTIST. IF I CAN'T MEASURE IT, DESCRIBE IT, ANALYSE IT, ITS NOT MUCH INTEREST TO ME. IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT. BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THE NATIVE AMERICANS SHOULDN'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO USE RANGE CREEK TO TELL THEIR OWN STORY. THEIR OWN VIEW OF THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. I THINK ARCHEOLOGISTS IN THE PAST HAVE NOT DONE A PARTICULARLY GOOD JOB IN PRESENTING SORT OF THE TWO DIFFERENT MESSAGES. RENEE BARLOW: AS WELL, .WE NEED NATIVE AMERICAN INTEREST TO BE REPRESENTED IN ARCHEOLOGY MUCH MORE THAN THEY CURRENTLY ARE, SO THAT WE CAN START TO MEND SOME OF THE RIFTS BETWEEN HOW SITES AND ARTIFACTS AND THE LANDSCAPE IN WHICH THEY EXIST ARE VIEWED. NARRATOR: FORREST CUCH APPEARS TO BE STUCK IN THE MIDDLE. HE REPRESENTS THE INTERESTS OF NATIVE PEOPLE. . .YET HE'S ALSO A REPRESENTATIVE OF STATE GOVERNMENT. BUT CUCH HOPES THE MIDDLE GROUND CAN BE FOUND IN RANGE CREEK. FORREST CUCH: . . .THE MORE I LEARN ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES OF OUR PEOPLE, OUR DIFFERENT CULTURES, THE MORE I ALSO LEARN ABOUT OUR COMMONALITIES AND I ALSO LEARN ULTIMATELY, ABOUT OUR HUMANITY. ALL OF OUR HUMANITY. AND SO ANYTHING THAT IS EDUCATIONAL THAT COMES OUT OF RANGE CREEK IS GOING TO BENEFIT ALL OF MANKIND IN MY VIEW RINGING BREAKFAST BELL NARRATOR: ANOTHER DAY DAWNS AT THE RANGE CREEK ARCHEOLOGICAL FIELD SCHOOL RUN BY THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH. DUNCAN METCALFE: AS I MENTIONED THE FIRST DAY WE WERE HERE, WE’VE KIND OF GOT TWO PURPOSES.  ONE IS TO IDENTIFY NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES, THE OTHER IS TO PROTECT THOSE SITES THAT ARE FURTHER TO THE NORTH. NARRATOR: ASSIGNMENTS ARE MADE FOR GRIDS TO SURVEY. DUNCAN METCALFE: ASSUME YOU ARE THE ONLY PERSON WHO WILL EVER VISIT THAT SITE, SO THE INFORMATION YOU COLLECT MAY BE THE ONLY INFORMATION THAT IS EVER ON RECORD. NARRATOR: MOST OF THESE ARE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS. . .MOST ARE GETTING THEIR FIRST TASTE OF WORK IN THE FIELD. STUDENT: NICE PIECE OF POTTERY. NARRATOR: ANY ROMANTIC IMAGES OF INDIANA JONES. . .OF DRAMATIC DISCOVERIES. . .OF GRABBING THE GOLDEN RING IN HIGH ADVENTURE, FIND NO PLACE HERE. KEVIN JONES: A HUNDRED YEARS AGO ARCHEOLOGY WAS ABOUT DISCOVERY. ITS WAS ABOUT ‘OH LOOK WHAT I FOUND.’ LOOK AT THIS POT. LOOK AT THIS BIG VILLAGE ON THE SIDE OF A CLIFF. IT WAS ABOUT SPECTACULAR DISCOVERIES THAT AWED THE PUBLIC. THE POT IS A FINE PIECE OF ART AND A WONDERFUL ARTIFACT, BUT IF WE DON'T CAREFULLY COLLECT INFORMATION ABOUT THAT POT, ABOUT THE CONTEXT IN WHICH IT WAS BURIED, ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO MADE IT, ABOUT THE CONDITIONS, THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS THAT EXISTED AT THE TIME, WE HAVEN'T REALLY LEARNED MUCH ABOUT IT. WE JUST HAVE A PIECE THAT WE CAN PUT IN A MUSEUM. NARRATOR: BUT A DAY WILL COME WHEN ARTIFACTS WILL BE EXCAVATED FROM RANGE CREEK. WHEN THEY ARE, THEY WILL TAKE UP PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN THE UTAH MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. SARAH GEORGE: WE HOLD THESE COLLECTIONS IN TRUST FOR CENTURIES. WE'RE CONSTANTLY GETTING REQUESTS TO GET ACCESS TO COLLECTIONS USING NEW TECHNIQUES. FOR EXAMPLE, THIS MORNING WE JUST APPROVED A REQUEST TO DATE SOME OBJECTS THAT WERE COLLECTED ALMOST 100 YEARS AGO WEST OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE. WE HAVE THEM HERE. WE KNOW HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THEM AND WE'LL HOLD THEM IN PERMANENT TRUST. NARRATOR: STRETCHED TO CAPACITY IN A BUILDING NEVER INTENDED FOR THE SERVICE, THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY IS PURSUING A NEW, MODERN FACILITY. THE ADDITION OF DISCOVERIES FROM RANGE CREEK WILL BE A FEATURED COMPONENT. SMALL, INITIAL DISCOVERIES HAVE GONE ON LIMITED DISPLAY AT THE MUSEUM AND TWO OTHER LOCATIONS IN UTAH. THEY HINT AT THE DEPTH AND QUALITY THAT LIES JUST BENEATH THE SURFACE. SARAH GEORGE: IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT LINK IN THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENCE. AND SO IN THE CASE OF RANGE CREEK, THE RESEARCH THAT OUR CURATORS ARE DOING JOINTLY WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY, OUR PUBLIC PROGRAMMING STAFF AND OUR EDUCATION STAFF THEN HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP EXHIBITIONS TO DEVELOP PERHAPS A FIELD TRIP PROGRAM, TO CONNECT THE PUBLIC TO RANGE CREEK, BUT AT THE SAME TIME WITH A GREAT DEAL OF RESPECT FOR ITS FRAGILITY. NARRATOR: JUST LIKE THE FIELD ARCHEOLOGISTS, THE MUSEUM ALSO HAS A DELICATE RELATIONSHIP WITH NATIVE AMERICANS ---WHO QUESTION WHETHER MUSEUMS ARE THE BEST REPOSITORY FOR ITEMS THEY CONSIDER SACRED. FORRECT CUCH: AS LONG AS THEY DO NOT HAVE A SAY IN THE DETERMINATIONS WITH REGARD TO DISPLAY AND FINANCING,  AS LONG AS INDIAN PEOPLE ARE NOT PART OF THAT DECISION MAKING PROCESS, I WOULD SAY NO. SARAH GEORGE: THE MUSEUM HAS AN INDIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE. WE HAVE OPENED CONVERSATIONS WITH TRIBES ABOUT THE DISPOSITION OF THE SITES IN RANGE CREEK. AND THIS IS AN ONGOING CONVERSATION THAT WILL HAPPEN FOR A LONG TIME. NARRATOR: GEORGE MAINTAINS THAT IF THE MANY INTERESTS CONCERNED WITH RANGE CREEK CAN CONTINUE TO STRIKE A BALANCE, THE ANCIENT FREMONTS COULD PRESENT UTAH WITH LESSONS THAT WILL SERVE THE STATE NOW AND IN THE FUTURE. SARAH GEORGE: WE HAVE GOT TO MAKE THOUGHTFUL DECISIONS ABOUT OUR FUTURE, AND ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO GET INFORMATION IN ORDER TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS IS TO LOOK AT OUR PAST, AND THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT TIME IN OUR PAST. THERE WERE PERIODS OF DRY AND WET IN THE EARLY PART OF THE MILLENIUM, AND WE SHOULD BE TAKING A LOOK AT THAT BECAUSE IT WILL HELP US DEVELOP PATTERNS OR DEVELOP MODELS THAT CAN HELP US PATTERN FOR THE FUTURE. ITS JUST A REALLY KEY THING IN ARCHEOLOGY THAT WE SHOULD BE PAYING ATTENTION TO STUDENT: ANDY, HAVE WE MADE A DATUM?  WE SHOULD MAKE A DATUM. NARRATOR: AGAIN, IT TRANSLATES TO BEING SLOW AND METHODICAL ON THE GROUND IN RANGE CREEK. . .TO MAKE EACH OF THE THOUSANDS OF SITES COUNT. KEVIN JONES: ONE OF THE THINGS TO ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND IS THAT JUST AS A BULLDOZER MAY DESTROY AN ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE WHEN THEY GO THROUGH IT, SO DOES AN ARCHEOLOGIST. WE TEAR IT APART. WE TAKE THE STONES AWAY. WE DIG INTO THE FIRE PIT AND THE ONLY THING THAT REMAINS IS THE QUALITY OF THE NOTES, THE QUALITY OF THE RECORDS THAT WE'VE KEPT. NARRATOR: YET THE MOST PRESSING CHALLENGE TO RANGE CREEK MAY COME FROM AN INTEREST NOT CURRENTLY SITTING AT THE MANAGEMENT TABLE. IT MAY COME FROM A NATIONAL ENERGY CRISIS. DUANE ZAVADIL: . . .THERES OIL, GAS, TAR SANDS, OIL SHALE, COAL, JUST A TREMENDOUS STACK OR WAREHOUSE OF HYDROCARBONS AND WITH IMPROVEMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY, THE PRICING SITUATION AND FINALLY TRANSPORTATION, THE ABILITY TO MOVE GAS OUT OF THIS PART OF THE WORLD VIA PIPELINES, ITS REALLY FOCUSED A LOT OF ATTENTION ON THE UINTAH BASIN AS ONE OF THOSE NEW FRONTIERS. AN AREA TO EXPLORE WHERE THERES A LOT OF UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES.  AND THE UINTA BASIN IS GOING TO BE A TARGET. NARRATOR: THE BILL BARRETT CORPORATION HAS BEEN ACTIVE IN AREAS NEAR RANGE CREEK CANYON. . .EXPLORING FOR NATURAL GAS AND OIL. THE DRILL RIGS ARE STARTING TO DOT THE WEST TAVAPUTS PLATEAU THAT OVERLOOKS RANGE CREEK. THE PETROLEUM IS SO RICH IN SPOTS THAT IT SEEMS TO BLEED FROM THE VERY WALLS OF THE TAVAPUTS PLATEAU. SKYROCKETING OIL PRICES ARE DRIVING AGGRESSIVE EXPLORATION. . .AND A TRIPLING OF THE NUMBER OF DRILLING PERMITS ISSUED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. DUANE ZAVADIL: WELL RANGE CREEK IS UNDERLAIN BY A LOT OF THE SAME FORMATIONS THAT THE WEST TAVAPUTS PLATEAU WHERE WE'RE STANDING TODAY IS. AND THERE ARE A NUMBER OF WELLS THAT HAVE BEEN TESTED FOR NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION AND BEEN PRODUCTIVE. SO IT REALLY IS A MATTER OF MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT HOW THOSE LANDS COULD ULTIMATELY BE DEVELOPED THAT WOULD DICTATE THE DEGREE OF DEVELOPMENT. BUT IT IS HIGHLY PROSPECTIVE FOR NATURAL GAS. DUNCAN METCALFE: I DON'T THINK THESE OIL PRICES THAT WE SEE TODAY ARE EVER GOING TO DISAPPEAR. AND AS OIL PRICES INCREASE, THE ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF ALTERNATIVES INCREASE. SO, THAT WOULD BE MY WORST FEAR. DERRIS JONES: THERE ARE DEFINITE CHALLENGES. AND SITTIN RIGHT AT THE THRESHOLD, MINERAL RIGHTS SUPERCEDE SURFACE RIGHTS. SO BASICALLY, WE ARE AT THE MERCY OF THE MINERAL LEASE HOLDERS. NARRATOR: IF YOU THINK THE STATE'S PURCHASE OF THE RANGE CREEK RANCH WOULD END SUCH TALK. . .ITS WORTH LOOKING AT THE ACTUAL SALE DOCUMENT. IN NEGOTIATIONS, WALDO WILCOX REDUCED HIS ASKING PRICE FOR THE RANCH. IN RETURN, HE KEPT THE MINERAL RIGHTS. WALDO WILCOX: KEN VERDOIA: IS OIL AND GAS IN THE FUTURE OF RANGE CREEK? WILCOX: IF I LEASE MY OIL RIGHTS TO SOMEONE, YEAH. BEFORE I LET SOMEBODY COME IN I WILL GIVE THE STATE FIRST CHANCE ON BUYING THEM. AND IF THEY DON'T, IF RANGE CREEK DOESN'T MEAN THAT MUCH TO THEM, I'M GOING TO GET EVERY DAMN DIME I CAN. NARRATOR: IN FACT, CHEVRON OIL STILL HOLDS  DRILLING EASEMENTS ON TWO RANGE CREEK PARCELS PURCHASED FROM WILCOX IN THE 1970S AND 1980S. EXPLORATION FIRMS SAY THEY COULD APPROACH RANGE CREEK DELICATELY. . .USING HORIZONTAL DRILLING TO ACCESS NATURAL GAS. DUANE ZAVADIL: . . .I THINK YOU CAN SATISFY MOST ETHICS. WE CAN’T SATISFY A WILDERNESS ETHIC. ULTIMATELY YOU HAVE TO HAVE ACCESS TO THE LAND. YOU HAVE TO BUILD ROADS AND WELL PADS AND STAND-UP DRILL RIGS. IF YOUR IDEA OF IDEAL PUBLIC LANDS MANAGEMENT IS ABSOLUTE CONSERVATION, ABSOLUTE WILDERNESS MANAGEMENT PRESCRIPTION, THERE IS A DEGREE OF INCOMPATABILITY THERE. WALDO WILCOX: THE GOVERNOR ASKED ME, OLENE WALKER, SHE SAID ‘WHY DIDN'T YOU LET US HAVE THEM MINERAL RIGHTS?’ AND I SAYS, ‘WELL...' NARRATOR: WILCOX CLAIMS HIS ASKING PRICE WAS CUT IN HALF. WALDO WILCOX: AND THAT'S THE WAY WE SETTLED IT. I'LL KEEP THE MINERALS AND SELL THEM TO WHO I CAN, WHEN I CAN.’ AND SO THAT'S JUST THE WAY IT SAYS. AND SHE SAYS ‘WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THEM?’ AND I SAID ‘I'M GONNA DRILL A GAS WELL RIGHT IN THAT DAMN PIT HOUSE WHERE YOU’RE STANDING.’ SHE JUST HUNG HER HEAD AND SHOOK HER HEAD. (LAUGHS OUT LOUD) NARRATOR: WHEN IT WAS ANNOUNCED TO THE WORLD IN THE SUMMER OF 2004, RANGE CREEK CANYON SEEMED SO SIMPLE. IN REALITY, IT MAY BE THE MOST DELICATE BALANCING ACT OF INTERESTS CURRENTLY IN PLAY ON THE ROUGH, EMBATTLED LANDSCAPE OF PUBLIC LAND MANAGEMENT IN THE WEST. IN THIS LOST CANYON IS A FOUND OPPORTUNITY. RENEE BARLOW: I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS CANYON PRESERVED AS IT IS, WITH A REAL FLAVOR OF WILDERNESS, WITH THE STILL RUGGED AND REMOTE QUALITIES THAT IT HAS, SO THAT FUTURE GENERATIONS COULD COME INTO THE CANYON, WALK THROUGH THE GATE, AND FIND ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES THE SAME WAY THAT WE'RE SEEING THEM IN 10 YEARS, IN 20 YEARS AND 50 YEARS AND 100 YEARS. DERRIS JONES: . . .I SEE THIS PARTNERSHIP THAT WE HAVE IN THE CANYON WITH THE ARCHEOLOGISTS AS A REAL OPPORTUNITY FOR AN OUTDOOR LABORATORY. WHERE WE CAN LOOK AT TECHNIQUES AND METHODS THAT'LL ACCOMPLISH GOOD THINGS FOR WILDLIFE, BUT YET PROTECT THE CULTURAL RESOURCES AS WELL. AND WE CAN TAKE WHAT WE LEARN IN THIS CANYON, AND USE IT ALL OVER THE WEST. DON PEAY: YOU KNOW, IF THE HIKERS AND THE PHOTOGRAPHERS AND THE ARCHEOLOGISTS AND THE HUNTERS AND THE BACKPACKERS, IF WE ALL WORK TOGETHER, WE CAN GO TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND SAY ‘YOU KNOW WHAT, PUBLIC LAND IS GOOD. AND WE WANT IT.’ AND WHEN SOME OF THESE RANCHES IN THE WEST COME FOR SALE, LETS ACQUIRE THEM. LETS OPEN IT TO THE PUBLIC. LETS SHOW CONFIDENCE THAT WE CAN HAVE PUBLIC MANAGEMENT. A PUBLIC LAND PROCESS WHERE EVERYONE ENJOYS IT. FORREST CUCH: SOMETIMES ITS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE AT THE POINT OF DISASTER AND THEN SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL HAPPENS. I MEAN IT'S ALMOST LIKE THE CHAOS THEORY WE'RE LEARNING ABOUT MORE RECENTLY. AND SO, SOMETIMES ITS COMFORTING. . .AND SOMETIMES ITS AS FRIGHTENING AS CAN BE. NARRATIVE: IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE. . .A LIBRARY OF HUMAN EXISTENCE. . . AN OASIS FOR WILDLIFE. . . A SACRED CROSSROADS. . .AN ENERGY RESERVOIR READY TO BE TAPPED.  FOR MANY OBSERVERS THE PROSPECTS FOR RANGE CREEK CANYON ARE BOTH COMFORTING. . .AND FRIGHTENING AS CAN BE.

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