美国国家公共电台 NPR In Utah, How You Tread Through This Canyon Matters

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

There's a truce¹ in Utah's Canyon² Country between preservationists and off roaders in Recapture Canyon, which is prized for its sensitive Native American cultural sites. And as NPR's Kirk Siegler reports, the agreement there could reach far outside the canyon.

KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE³: San Juan County Commissioner⁴ Phil Lyman cared so much about what he sees as his right to drive ATVs into Recapture Canyon, he went to jail for it.

PHIL LYMAN: Going into this, you know, I've said a number of times, I'm a foot soldier. I'm not a captain. I'm not a general. I'm willing to die on the battlefield for a good cause.

SIEGLER: Lyman's battlefield is an old jeep trail near his home in Blanding, Utah, that's become a flashpoint in the struggle by rural counties that want control of federal public land. The Bureau of Land Management temporarily closed this trail more than a decade ago. Ancient artifacts were being damaged, and there was looting.

Then three years ago, with the closure still being enforced, a frustrated⁵ Lyman led an off-road vehicle brigade deep into Recapture. The protesters in this video are waving American flags. They kick up dust for the cameras as their tires travel across land considered sensitive to native people. Well, this caused a stir on reservations and in cities while Lyman became a darling of the far-right movement in the rural west.

LYMAN: Recapture runs just down below us here.

SIEGLER: Today, Lyman is still on probation⁶. He served a short stint⁷ in federal prison for that protest ride, but he's feeling vindicated⁸. This month, the BLM partially⁹ lifted the ban on off roading here in Recapture. Some of the canyon floor itself where the protest happened is still closed, but they're promising¹⁰ to build a new network of ATV trails on the rim¹¹ and part way down the canyon.

LYMAN: I don't know if I won. I hope ultimately that we win.

SIEGLER: But Lyman says he's encouraged by the timing¹² of this announcement under the new administration, which he thinks will give a friendlier ear to his cause.

LYMAN: After an 11-year wait, to me, that signals, hey, we hear you.

SIEGLER: The new interior secretary Ryan Zinke is holding up the Recapture Canyon plan as a model for how to increase access to U.S. public lands for all users, motorized or not.

LISA BRYANT: You can actually walk fairly close to the cliff dwellings¹³.

SIEGLER: But here on the ground, the BLM's Lisa Bryant is hesitant to describe this plan as a big policy shift. The decision to temporarily ban off roaders in Recapture came down during the George W. Bush administration. The impacts to cultural sites had become a big issue, she says, and it took time to come up with the right balance.

BRYANT: And in the canyon bottom itself, we have an authorized¹⁴ motorized access, but prefer people to visit on horseback or on foot, much the way their ancestors did.

SIEGLER: But as we're hiking down toward one of the Anasazi cliff dwellings - the canyon is dense¹⁵ with them - you can still see illegal motorcycle tire tracks in the mud.

BRYANT: We're going to take a left turn here.

SIEGLER: Environmentalists say one of the biggest ifs of this plan is whether there will actually be funding to enforce the closure, let alone rehabilitate¹⁶ some of the damaged cultural sites. Yet they, too, are declaring a partial victory here.

Neal Clark of the Southern Utah Wilderness¹⁷ Alliance says Phil Lyman's protest ride went nowhere because ATVs are still banned from the most sensitive areas.

NEAL CLARK: It's sending a clear signal that illegal activity as a means to forward your agenda for public land uses is not going to be tolerated by the federal agencies.

SIEGLER: So it's one of those rare moments in the fiery¹⁸ debate over federal public lands in which both sides seem willing to stand down for now. Kirk Siegler, NPR News, Blanding, Utah.

(SOUNDBITE OF LAURA VEIRS SONG, "I CAN SEE YOUR TRACKS")

SIMON: This is NPR News.

1 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

2 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

5 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。

7 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

8 vindicated   

v.澄清（某人/某事物）受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的过去式和过去分词 )；表明或证明（所争辩的事物）属实、正当、有效等；维护

参考例句：

• I have every confidence that this decision will be fully vindicated. 我完全相信这一决定的正确性将得到充分证明。
• Subsequent events vindicated the policy. 后来的事实证明那政策是对的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

10 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

11 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

12 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

13 dwellings   

n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The development will consist of 66 dwellings and a number of offices. 新建楼区将由66栋住房和一些办公用房组成。
• The hovels which passed for dwellings are being pulled down. 过去用作住室的陋屋正在被拆除。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

15 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

16 rehabilitate   

vt.改造(罪犯)，修复；vi.复兴，(罪犯)经受改造

参考例句：

• There was no money to rehabilitate the tower.没有资金修复那座塔。
• He used exercise programmes to rehabilitate the patients.他采用体育锻炼疗法使患者恢复健康。

17 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

18 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。