Opinion: DACA and the politics of cruelty

that work to conserve the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Phillips says he expected other wildlife tourism businesses to follow his lead, but very few did. Wanting to change the narrative, Phillips partnered with Chris McBarnes, president of e WYldlife Fund, a partner foundation to the Game and Fish Department that helps fund wildlife projects across Wyoming. Together, the two men created Wildlife Tourism for Tomorrow, a nonpro t that funds conservation by targeting businesses and people that depend on wildlife to make their living. ese are the companies that run wildlife tours, and the hotels, restaurants and shops that cater to wildlife watchers.

By tapping into this tourism constituency, the new group has “enormous potential to change the face of funding wildlife conservation in Wyoming,” says Phillips. Diane Shober, executive director of the Wyoming O ce of Tourism, agrees, calling Wildlife Tourism for Tomorrow “a crucial initiative” for wildlife conservation, especially as hunting revenues decline.

Donations are collected from both individuals and businesses through Wildlife Tourism’s website, and donors have the option to select the conservation projects their money helps.

One project currently in need of funding is the restoration of sagebrush steppe in Grand Teton National Park. In the early 1900s, several thousand acres of land in the park were cultivated for hay production, which fragmented habitat for wildlife. Since 2009, the park has been working to restore 4,500 acres of former hay elds to sagebrush and grasses, a multi-year project with an annual budget of over $400,000. Funding through Wildlife Tourism for Tomorrow donations helps keep the project going. e nonpro t also uses the money

it raises to build wildlife crossings on highways and install wildlife-friendly fencing along migration corridors. Other contributions go toward restoring wetlands and radio-collaring elk for scienti c study. Usually, projects that help wildlife are designed by organizations such as Trout Unlimited, the U.S. Forest Service and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Project developers then partner with other interested groups to seek funding through the state’s underfunded Game and Fish Department. Wildlife Tourism for Tomorrow steps in to ADAM WILLOUGHBY-KNOX VIA UNSPLASH help ll the gaps in funding. Since October of 2021, Wildlife Tourism for Tomorrow has donated over $125,000 that was collected from 68 businesses and dozens of individuals. One of its projects with Trout Unlimited in 2020 contributed $20,000 to keep spawning cutthroat trout from getting trapped in an irrigation system. Trout Unlimited’s Leslie Steen appreciated the help: “I’ve seen wildlife tour trips in the area and it is really neat to think that those same businesses are now giving back to native sh.” Wildlife Tourism for Tomorrow has grown quickly in its rst year, and support from Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon has given it more visibility. Meanwhile, Phillips has spent a lot of time spreading the word that people who love wildlife need to step up. For too long, hunters and anglers have been doing the heavy lifting. Just a suggestion, other Western states, but maybe it’s time to get on board. Kelsey Wellington is a contributor to Writers on the Range, and a wildlife guide in Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks. is opinion column does not necessarily re ect the views of Boulder Weekly.

DACA and the politics of cruelty

by Andrew Moss

It wasn’t long ago that we awoke to images and stories of families separated at the border, of migrant children locked into dirty, crowded, chain-link pens. For many Americans, this was an alarming introduction to the politics of cruelty that have played out in di erent periods of American immigration history, but with particular force in the past years.

Today that politics is moving back into the media spotlight. As I write this, it’s not yet clear whether DACA, the program created to protect from deportation the young people brought here as children, will last much longer. In response to a lawsuit brought by the attorney general of Texas and several other states, a federal judge ruled last year that the program was illegal, and his ruling was upheld this past October by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Unless legislation is passed during this year’s waning congressional session to extend the protections a orded to DACA recipients, the case may go to the Supreme Court, where its prospects would be dim.

If DACA is ended, it’s unlikely that the 590,000 young people currently protected by the program will be deported, but they would no longer have the federal protections that have allowed them to work and secure other bene ts. ey would be pushed back into the shadows and precarity of undocumented status. at is where the politics of cruelty come in. is kind of politics is not only about policies like family separation, which were intentionally designed to in ict su ering and ostensibly “deter” migrants from coming to the U.S. e politics of cruelty also incorporate a language, a discourse, that casts migrants in dehumanizing terms (“illegal aliens”), presents them as threats to Americans’ physical and economic security, and excludes any reference to America’s need for immigration to maintain a robust economy and revitalize communities. ere is every good reason to extend protection, indeed, permanent status, to DACA recipients, and no

GIVE GIFTS OF COMFORT & WARMTH

Slippers, Socks, Hats, Gloves, Boots, Shoes & More!

Comfortableshoes.com

BOULDER On the Downtown Mall

at 1425 Pearl St. 303-449-5260

& in The Village

next to McGuckin 303-449-7440

DENVER Next to REI at 15th & Platte

at 2368 15th St. 720-532-1084 good reason to deny it. With the umbrella of the program protecting them since 2012, DACA recipients have been able to go to college, enter professional careers, start families, buy homes, serve as essential workers during the pandemic, and pay their fair share of federal and state taxes.

In short, America is their home, and they have every right to a permanent status that legislation can bring. at is why major political organizations like the U.S. Conference of Mayors have supported such protections, and why business organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have called for legislative action on the recipients’ behalf. Polling data from recent years has consistently shown that a majority of American voters support the continuation of DACA or permanent status for DACA recipients.

Certainly, protecting DACA, or giving a pathway to permanent status for DACA recipients in this congressional session, represents a contraction of the original, ambitious Biden administration goal of extending a path to citizenship to the 11.5 million undocumented individuals in America. is contraction only goes to show the power of the opposition to substantive reform. Still, in light of this opposition, the achievement of legislated protection for 590,000 people would represent a signi cant accomplishment indeed.

As of now, a proposed “bipartisan framework,” co-created by Senators Kyrsten Sinema (I-Arizona) and om Tillis (R-North Carolina), is oating in the Senate. It would provide a path to legalization for DACA recipients, but it would also be accompanied by border security measures that include an additional $25-$40 billion for increased sta ng

and pay raises for border agents. It also would provide for the creation of regional “processing centers” that would house asylum seekers and ostensibly expedite the processing of their asylum requests. Until such centers would be operational, a Trump-era policy known as Title 42 would remain in e ect, turning migrants back to Mexico and preventing them from ling asylum claims. is policy had PROTECTING DACA been set to expire Dec. 21. RECIPIENTS is a Protecting DACA recipients is a standstand-alone human rights alone human rights issue that issue that should have no should have no place in negotiaplace in negotiations over tions over border security, particuborder security, particularly larly when those negotiations when those negotiations involve the suppression of other involve the suppression of migrants’ rights. at said, there remains formiother migrants’ rights. dable opposition even to the Sinema/Tillis framework, an opposition forti ed by the libuster rule that requires a 60-vote supermajority in the Senate. If the current Congress, with its substantial Democratic House majority, fails to extend protection to DACA and its recipients, the failure will represent a victory for the politics of cruelty, a politics powered by demagoguery and the fears it generates. It will mean, too, that the struggle for human rights will continue, sparked by the kind of organizing and truth-telling that helped push DACA into existence a decade ago. And it will mean, more clearly than ever, that it’s time for the libuster, that onerous impediment to democracy, to be relegated to the dustbin of history. Andrew Moss, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is an emeritus professor (English, Nonviolence Studies) at the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. is opinion column does not necessarily re ect the views of Boulder Weekly.

Boulder County’s rst-ever Climate Innovation Fund distributes more than $500K in grants

by Will Matuska

Earlier this month, Boulder County announced the recipients of its Climate Innovation Fund, which is dispersing more than $500,000 to ve projects addressing climate change locally though nature-based solutions, carbon dioxide removal and landscape restoration.

From wild re to poor air quality and more days of extreme heat, “we all know that the climate crisis is already impacting everyday life in Boulder County,” says Susie Strife, director of Boulder County’s O ce of Sustainability, Climate Action and Resilience (OSCAR).

Grantees went through a competitive process — more than 2 million applications were received and reviewed by 17 local and national experts in climate research, carbon sequestration, carbon removal technology and nature-based solutions. e recipients are Biochar Now, Boulder Watershed Collective, Drylands Agroecology Research (DAR), Ollin Farms and Takachar.

Each grantee was awarded at least $90,000 to support ongoing work.

“If we’re serious about supporting the actual solutions for climate change, we really need to foster the innovative solutions here, right on the ground in Boulder County,” Strife says.

Nature-based solutions uphold natural features or processes in built environments to increase capacity for adaptation and resilience to climate change. e grantees of the Climate Innovation Fund utilize soil, plants, biochar, native mycelium, wood debris, and livestock to sequester carbon, increase water retention, minimize re risks and bolster biodiversity.

“ e beauty of DAR’s work is that we are using nature’s wisdom to set in motion agricultural ecosystems that function like natural ecosystems,” said DAR’s Amy Scanes-Wolfe in a press release. Longmont-based DAR is working to transform degraded landscapes into agro-ecosystems through biodiversity and soil carbon sequestration. e fund prioritized granting local projects: three are in Boulder County and one is in Berthoud. Takachar is located in Boston, Massachusetts.

“Grounding innovation and technology development through a place-based approach can advance equity and amplify outcomes that respond best to our community’s needs,” said Boulder County Commissioner Marta Loachamin in a press release, “which is why the County selected projects that will have positive local impacts and community co-bene ts.”

With these funds, Boulder County is bolstering its status as a hub for nature-based solution projects.

“What’s so unique about our community is that there are so many incredible, passionate and knowledgeable people wanting to do this work,” says Strife. “And what I love about Boulder County’s initiative here is it’s an invitation and a celebration of our local strengths and assets that we have here in Boulder County. at to me is such a sign of resilience and moving toward a future that we all want in terms of a healthier planet.” e Climate Innovation Fund is supported through the Sustainability Tax ballot initiative passed by voters in November 2016. Strife says the fund will be available annually, but the type of projects they look for could change. She expects the amount of money in the fund to remain the same, or even increase down the road. “Given our commitment to climate action, we are planning on supporting these sort of climate pioneers or climate innovators in our community, so we want to continue this funding,” she says.

Strife is also part of a group writing a white paper about how local governments can invest in this type of community development and local climate solutions.

“So that’s an exciting next step for this work,” she says, “to showcase how a community like ours can launch this type of fund.”

COURTESY BOULDER COUNTY IN THE DIRT:

DAR’s earthworks team conducted a pilot study on 14 acres that showed a 200% increase in soil organic matter and an 85% survival rate of 950 fruit and nurse tress without irrigation.

Forty- ve pounds of fentanyl mixture seized in Longmont shows more work to be done

by Will Matuska

Hidden in a pill or powder, only 2 milligrams of fentanyl is considered a potentially lethal dose. at’s the weight of a typical mosquito.

Nick Goldberger has 12 years of experience with the Boulder County Drug Task Force. In 2020, he started to see the consequences of more fentanyl entering the county.

“If you do not get a drug from a pharmacist, you’re taking a chance,” says Goldenberger. “You’re making a bad choice because there are pills out there that will kill you, and they have [killed].” ere were seven accidental fentanyl deaths in 2021, according to the Boulder County Coroner’s O ce. Goldenberger says the drug task force has 20 active investigations, and most of them are fentanyl-related deaths.

On Dec. 2, law enforcement seized almost 45 pounds of a fentanyl and cocaine mixture in Longmont. Alberto Reyes-Carrillo, who has ties with the Sinaloa Cartel, was arrested and is being held on a $500,000 bond. e U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says one kilogram (equal to two pounds) of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people.

According to Goldenberger, most of the fentan-

yl coming to this area is from Mexico. He’s glad to see nearly 50 pounds of fentanyl mixture o the streets.

“ at amount of fentanyl, whether it’s straight fentanyl or fentanyl mixture will — it’s not a could — will kill people,” he says. “It would have killed people, I don’t know a number, but one is already too many.”

Fentanyl is cheaper, creates more powerful highs and drives greater addiction and more purchases. Goldenberger compares pills laced with fentanyl to chocolate chip cookies — once the ingredients are all combined and put on a baking sheet, some cookies have more chocolate chips than others, the same way some fentanyl-laced pills have more fentanyl than others.

“When you get any of the cookies with more chocolate chips, which equates to a pill that has more than two milligrams of fentanyl, somebody’s probably going to die,” Goldenberger says.

District Attorney Michael Dougherty says the amount of fentanyl seized in Longmont was unusually large for Boulder County, because packages of that size often get broken up before reaching the Denver metro area.

“It’s my hope that law enforcement taking this o the streets is going to put a dent in how much fentanyl is coming into this community,” Dougherty says. “However, to be realistic, that’s just short term. And long term, we have a lot of work to do to help people who are struggling with addiction, and to get more programs for treatment and harm reduction in place.”

Now, Dougherty is focused on both the prosecution of Reyes-Carrillo, and the ongoing investigation to learn more about where he was coming from and where he was heading.

If convicted, Dougherty says Reyes-Carrillo faces a “very lengthy” state prison sentence.

His court process is now underway, and he will have a hearing in the coming weeks. More resources are now going toward ghting the fentanyl crisis in Boulder County and the state. Since October of this year, Goldenberger says the County’s drug task force has been using the Overdose Mapping and Application

Program, or ODMAP, a website that gives real-time data on overdoses and deaths. Before

ODMAP, the task force sometimes had to wait six months or even a year for up-to-date data to inform decision making.

As of Nov. 29, law enforcement agencies across the state can now apply for funding through the state’s Synthetic Opiate Poisoning Investigation and Distribution Interdiction Grant Program, which has $6.9 million available to help investigate fentanyl death, injury and distribution.

“[ e grant program] is a really comprehensive approach to helping our community survive the fentanyl crisis,” Dougherty says. “It’s not something we’re going to simply incarcerate our way out of — that would be a mistake.”

SHOP THE BEST

SAVE 50%

WITH JUNIOR TRADE

BOOT FITTING - DRIVEN BY TECHNOLOGY

EXPERT

BOOT FITTING

SHOP IN-STORE

AURORA • WESTMINSTER • BOULDER COLORADO SPRINGS • PARK MEADOWS LITTLETON • FRISCO

This magic moment L isa Siciliano has certainly grown up Boulder rock-concert photographer Lisa from the days when she fi rst fell in love Siciliano breaks down fi ve of her favorite with music as a kid in Ohio images ahead of annual showcase — having since developed a remarkable career as by Adam Perry a celebrated Boulder rock-concert photographer — but it’s a hoot to listen to her geek out on the musical heroes of her youth. Van Halen’s 1978 party-on-wax debut album, she says, “brings me right back to high school and everything I love about rock ‘n’ roll.”

Over the last 25 years shooting concerts — always on fi lm, almost always in black-andwhite — Siciliano has been smelling-distance away from many of the artists she grew up admiring, from the Van Halen brothers themselves to Pete Townshend and B.B. King. She’s also forged many relationships with local bands before they became stars, establishing herself as a vital part of the Colorado music scene in the process. She’s a fi xture in the photo pit at Red Rocks, the Pepsi Center and really any renowned venue you can name. Siciliano’s career behind the lens will come into focus during her 14th annual Rocking in a Winter Wonderland at Vapor Distillery on Dec. 17. It’s a party with live music, showcasing her concert photography. (She also does wedding and graduation photos, family portraits and more under the banner Dog Daze Photo.) She sells everything from small, discounted prints to framed wall-sized shots meant to be the centerpiece of a music lover’s home.

In a recent sit-down interview, Siciliano — who got her fi rst camera from Kmart at 10 years old — pored over fi ve of her favorite concert photos from the last two-and-ahalf decades and described not just the works themselves, but the moments behind them.

Tom Petty: Mile High Music Festival at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park (Commerce City), 2008

“I always like when there’s a movement, up or down, because it’s something different. You’re just feeling the song. Sometimes, too, they’ll repeat that kind of motion and you’re, like, ‘OK, when he gets to this part again, he’s gonna do something interesting.’ It was kind of like that; it was kind of like the ending of a song, and endings of songs are usually good. That was at Mile High Music Festival, and he was the headliner there. He also just looks really into it, to me, in that picture — really focused.”

George Clinton: Ogden Theatre (Denver), 2018

“This is a perfect example of where the light technician comes in, because that shot would be cool in itself, but the lights — the ways they’re coming down around him — just make it a thousand times cooler. I have four shots of that same [moment], because he stood there for a minute, but that one is the shot because of the lights coming down and the light in his eyes. And it’s just so rock ‘n’ roll. Everything about that is perfect to me.”

Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers): Pepsi Center (Denver), 2012

“This was one of those shots where it was like, ‘OK, I got it,’ and that was right when [Red Hot Chili Peppers] came out. He came out and started the show and I was like, ‘I don’t even need to shoot anymore.’ Of course I did, but I knew. I knew I got it. I also like these kinds of photos where it’s not obvious who it is, but if you look at it you’re gonna know it’s Flea, if you know. I love the refl ection on the shiny fl oor …It looks like a street that’s all slick.”

Dolly Parton: Red Rocks Amphitheatre (Morrison), 2016

“It’s just so Dolly, right? I have some of her playing guitar from that concert that I like a lot. This one, though … she just looks friendly and inviting, and you wanna go to her house and eat some biscuits, you know? [Laughs] It’s like the quintessential Dolly Parton. She was very excited that night. That was right before she started singing ‘Jolene.’ … When it’s a song I love, I have to make sure I’m not moving around, especially because that was from the soundboard and I was hand-holding a 300 [mm lens]. She’s amazing — especially at that age. It sounded just like the record.”

ON THE BILL: Rocking in a Winter Wonderland: Rock Art Show and Sale by Lisa Siciliano, featuring live music from Koret with special guest David Hinojosa. 5-10 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, Vapor Distillery, 5311 Western Ave., Suite 180, Boulder

David Crosby: Boulder Theater, 2017

“It’s intense, and I like the half-shadow thing, too. I’m a big fan of half-lit faces. … It was a really special concert … his voice still sounded the same, and that picture, I just absolutely could feel how into it he was. That was probably the best I’ve seen him solo, and I’ve photographed him a bunch. I photographed him with Crosby, Stills and Nash at Red Rocks when I fi rst became house photographer [there] back in the late ’90s. …He was [backstage] like, ‘Is this the house photographer? She won’t do.’ I was freaking out. I was like, ‘What’s wrong with this guy?’ And he said, ‘She’s much too beautiful. She’s gonna distract me.’ He’s such a jokester guy. He’s a ham. He’s kind of an asshole at the same time, but cool. He doesn’t give a shit; it’s just who he is. I love that picture.”