CBS National News Coverage for Bonneville Salt Flats

[ski123]

For those who are active on Facebook CBS This Morning has a site.  They have a post from Oct 5 with a clip of the segment.  There are several comments on the clip as well.  If enough people direct your comments to CBS publicly they may take notice, social media is so powerful.  Looks like things are moving in a positive direction, now.

[desotoman]

I am not a social media guy. So I googled CBS Saturday morning news and found this page to send them a reply about their programing. So I hope this helps people who don't use social media.

https://audienceservices.cbs.com/feedback/feedback.htm

Tom G.

[racergeo]

  I would like to suggest that you recommend to any one you contact from the "NEWS" or government that they watch the You tube video " 1989 Bonneville Salt Flats Racing". Greg Morgan of the Bureau of Land Management gives an accurate assessment of what is happening to the salt. He clearly states that racing at Bonneville is  "non surface disturbing". I believe he states the salt is 3" thick. His interview starts at 29 minutes.To bad the news and government officials didn't see this before they were brain washed by the bureaucrats in charge. I wonder if he is still around. We live in an era where it's almost impossible to get to the truth. To many vested interests.
      If we had enough clout (money) we would engage some "civil liberty" lawyers. Then the push back from the BLM lady would be 'let the surface rest for several years' rather then just a few years.

[desotoman]

  I would like to suggest that you recommend to any one you contact from the "NEWS" or government that they watch the You tube video " 1989 Bonneville Salt Flats Racing". Greg Morgan of the Bureau of Land Management gives an accurate assessment of what is happening to the salt. He clearly states that racing at Bonneville is  "non surface disturbing".

George,

Thanks for the heads up as in my reply to CBS I did state that CBS should look at that video from 30 years ago from 29:15 - 32:30 and posted the link to it.

Tom G.

[racergeo]

    Tom, as I have told thousands of people, YOU are a freekin genius!!!!   

[MAYOMAN]

The CBS program illustrates the real problem is that the racers have NO political clout.
Save the Salt is a loser campaign. No one in power will pay attention.
Be smart and get on the environmentalist bandwagon.
SAVE THE BRINE SHRIMP! Get the environmentalists on board. They rule politically.
Brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana) are found widely in North America. They can be found in the salt ponds south of San Francisco and in places where salt water evaporates naturally along the California coast and in the Great Salt Lake, Utah.
Brine shrimp can also be found in salt flats and are an important food source for many wildlife species such as flamingos.
The Wendover mining operation is destroying habitat for BRINE SHRIMP! SAVE THE BRINE SHRIMP!
Oh, and since they don't live on the salt surface, racers do not have a negative impact on brine shrimp - mining DOES!

[JR'S PAPA]

I wrote this several years ago, when we were seeking some local, Utah legislative involvement. Keep in mind we can't change any opinions nationally without winning the support of Wendover, Tooele County and Utah voters. Otherwise we are just dragging their dead weight.

Every time the B.L.M. or the legislature issue a press release or statement about Bonneville, the local, vocal re-pliers to the articles or newscasts are 90% naysayers with opinions that all sound like, "...who cares about a bunch of greasy hot rodding miscreants, with a pack of Camels rolled up in their t-shirt sleeve, locked in adolescence with a high school, macho, stuck in the '60s mentality or rich corporate teams that use the Salt once or twice a year to make commercials.....". Really, it's like yelling at your dog. They hear you, but they just can't care to understand.

Some how losing most of the Salt Flats and losing most of any of the National Monuments (ie: Bear's Ears-Grand Staircase), to make a few jobs and fewer more wealthy; and stealing from all the generations that follow us that will never see those special sunrises of Speedweek or WOS, or smell the nitro on a crisp morning, or share the joy of a new Red Hat, or watch someone repack a chute, or enjoy the brotherhood and sisterhood of sharing the moment, day or week on the Salt, or Native-Americans losing any part of their heritage, is truly tragic. We are all in this, just from a little different prospective. We all need to be aware of each other; fighting the same beast with different means. Maybe, somehow we will learn how close all of our seemingly seperate concerns really are.

I do not know how or if we even can get, some of the American people or Utahans in particular to care, just a little, about someone else's ox that is being gored. I fear it may be too late. Our passion is now moving to Australia and Bolivia, and losing the passionate backbone of the sport, because we can't shout loud enough to get the dog to understand! I truly hope we can find an answer.       

[ski123]

Perhaps getting more spectators on the salt would increase interest in the sport.  There are plenty of people who want to get in on it but have no team, money, car or automotive skills.  I see this at the Reno Air Races, they open the pits and there is so much interaction, and the selling of t-shirts, hoodies, hats, stickers, ect.  There are opportunities for the small guy to make a few hundred on merch.  What about bleachers, observation platforms, shade tents, live footage on big screens, nice portos, food and drink vendors.  Yes there are many hurdles but there may be a big pay off in support and positive vibes.  There are people out there who have more money then they know what to do with, make them VIPs and teach them how they can help the community and be a hero at the same time. Legendary status available?

[gowing]

I believe that the best route to take is the "Save a National Treasure" route.
National Geographic, Discovery channel, PBS, etc... are probably the folks with the most clout in that area
and have the best chance of getting the story told on television.

There are also the internet, social media avenues to getting the word out.
Whatever the outlet may be,
The public has to be made aware of the issues before any change will happen thru gov't intervention.

However.... I still think that the quickest course of action is through Intrepid itself.
Control the mine and you control the mining.

In the end....... it all comes down to money.

Seriously, in the end it all comes down to money.

[jacksoni]

More dim bulb rewrite of the CBS: https://www.racingjunk.com/news/2019/10/07/the-future-of-the-bonneville-salt-flats/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Burnoutnewsletter

[manta22]

Jack, here is what I wrote as a reply to that article:

"Brenda Bowen and the BLM are pulling a sleight-of-hand trick on the public. They define the salt surface as the "crust package", not the hard top crust layer that we race on. Their "crust package" includes the salty mud underneath the hard crust, a completely different thing. We don't race on that mud.
This loss of the hard salt surface is clearly the mining operation. There are millions of tons of the unused mined salt left over on the south side of I-80. Getting that returned to where it came from would help restore the Bonneville Salt Flats."

I hit "ENTER" but my post never showed up. Apparently you need to be logged in to post anything and I'm not going to do that. I get enough SPAM from websites already. Arrrggghhh.

[POPS]

We are being played.  Until we start lawsuit's against the BLM and Intrepid nothing will get done.  The CBS story isn't going to get us anywhere.  Save the Salt needs to quit being nice.

[trimmers]

We all need to stop being nice.  We can send a message by "booing" at the Speedweek driver's meeting when the BLM representative gets up to speak.  Shout 'em down!

Jeff in Boise

[jacksoni]

I am reasonably sure that the local agent of the BLM is not the decision maker (alone) about mining leases and such. You have to remember that SCTA and USFRA etc, need a permit to hold a meet. Being unpleasant rather than trying to work with them may threaten those permits and they decide to listen to Bowen. Unfortunately, politically speaking, our voices-and pocketbooks- are small.

[WOODY@DDLLC]

Change 'Save the Salt' to 'New Green Impeachment Deal' and you'll be heard even if it just one of you!