Utah

The Sutherland Institute

The Sutherland Institute Is A Koch-Funded, Conservative Think Tank At The Forefront Of Anti-Public Lands Advocacy In Utah

The Sutherland Institute Is A Conservative Think Tank In Utah 

The Sutherland Institute is a “non-profit, non-partisan Utah-based public policy research organization.” “The Sutherland Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan Utah-based public policy research organization whose goal is to encourage public policy solutions that allow individual initiative to flourish, and that support limited government, private property rights, and personal responsibility.” [Sutherland Institute, archived 06/09/00]

The Sutherland Institute Was Founded In 1995 By A Salt Lake City Developer To Promote “Free-Market Principles.” “The institute was founded in 1995 by Salt Lake City developer and investor Gaylord K. Swim, who has a graduate political science degree and love for the U.S. Constitution. Salisbury, a former associate professor at Florida State University, joined at the outset. The institute is like think tanks in 37 other states. All put on seminars for public officials, and the Sutherland has held three since 1996. It also publishes studies, opinion pieces and books. […] The group embraces free-market principles promoted by liberals at the turn of the century. The institute takes its name from Utah’s George Sutherland, a congressman, senator and Supreme Court justice who as one of the court’s “Four Horsemen” stood against President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal government expansion in the 1930s. The Sutherland Institute isn’t shy about prompting its brand of philosophy, and not everyone likes it.” [Associated Press, 05/23/99]

The Sutherland Institute’s Funding Comes From A Broad Network Of Anonymous, Right-Wing Foundations With Industry Ties

The Sutherland Institute Raises Millions Of Dollars Per Year From Secretive, Industry-Tied Private Foundations 

The Sutherland Institute Has Received Millions From “Dark Money Funds Tied To The Billionaire” Koch Brothers. “Today’s land seizure movement, which would deprive millions of Americans of their rightful claim to the public domain, was born in Utah. Finally, a brief nod to the Sutherland Institute, a Utah-based think tank and policy shop that has received more than $1.5 million from dark money funds tied to the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch and their allies.” [Pacific Standard, 07/13/17]

Sutherland’s Funding Comes Mainly From Private Foundations. Boyd Matheson, former president of Sutherland, said in an Instagram post that Sutherland’s “funding comes from private foundations and individuals… who know that the principles we promote lead to smaller government, bigger citizens, and more heroic communities.” [Instagram, 3/31/16]

Sutherland’s “Primary Benefactor” Is Its Founder, Gaylord Swim. The Sutherland Institute’s “primary benefactor” was founder Gaylord Swim when the organization was founded in 1995. [Deseret News, 01/20/04]

Since 2012, The Sutherland Institute Reports Raising $13,554,533. 

  • The Sutherland Institute Reported $2,008,043 in the fiscal year ending in 2017. [Sutherland Institute 990, FY ending 2017]
  • The Sutherland Institute Reported $3,682,989 in the fiscal year ending in 2016. [Sutherland Institute 990, FY ending 2016]
  • The Sutherland Institute Reported $3,102,581 in the fiscal year ending in 2015. [Sutherland Institute 990, FY ending 2015]
  • The Sutherland Institute Reported $2,027,205 in the fiscal year ending in 2014. [Sutherland Institute 990, FY ending 2014]
  • The Sutherland Institute Reported $1,424,010 in the fiscal year ending in 2013. [Sutherland Institute 990, FY ending 2013]
  • The Sutherland Institute Reported $1,309,705 in the fiscal year ending in 2012. [Sutherland Institute 990, FY ending 2012]

The GFC Foundation, Which Is Run By The Son Of Sutherland’s Founder, Is One Of Sutherland’s Primary Donors. Since 2012, GFC Has Contributed More Than $8 Million To Sutherland. 

The GFC Foundation, Run By The Son Of Sutherland’s Founder, Is A Major Contributor To The Sutherland Foundation. “Stanford Swim is an investment manager. He is also a philanthropist. In his mind, those two roles are like two sides of a single coin. The 34-year-old president of GFC Foundation in Orem, Utah, comes from a long line of investment managers—four generations, actually. His grandfather Dudley was successful during the Great Depression and formed a charitable foundation in 1941, the Arthur L. Swim Foundation (later renamed ALS), named after his father. When Dudley passed away in 1972, his family continued the foundation’s work. Eventually, Gaylord and his wife, Laurie, established GFC Foundation in 1994 with further funds from his parents’ estate […] This core belief has shaped the mission of GFC, which is an acronym for God, Family, and Country.” Swim said that Sutherland “‘has been one of GFC’s largest projects, both in terms of dollars and man-hours.’” [Philanthropy Roundtable, Winter 2009]

The GFC Foundation Has Contributed $8,281,000 To Sutherland Since 2011. 

  • The GFC Foundation, in the fiscal year ending in 2017, contributed $1,460,000 to Sutherland. [GFC 990, FY ending 2017]
  • The GFC Foundation, in the fiscal year ending in 2016, contributed $2,555,000 to Sutherland. [GFC 990, FY ending 2016]
  • The GFC Foundation, in the fiscal year ending in 2015, contributed $1,713,000 to Sutherland. [GFC 990, FY ending 2015]
  • The GFC Foundation, in the fiscal year ending in 2014, contributed $1,217,000 million to Sutherland. [GFC 990, FY ending 2014]
  • The GFC Foundation, in the fiscal year ending in 2013, contributed $731,000 to Sutherland. [GFC 990, FY ending 2013]
  • The GFC Foundation, in the fiscal year ending in 2012, contributed $605,000. [GFC 990, FY ending 2011]

Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund Have Contributed Nearly $1.5 Million to Sutherland Institute. The Groups Work As A Donation “Anonymizer” For Wealthy Donors, To Obfuscate The Efforts Of Industries. 

Donors Trust And The Donors Capital Fund Have Been Described As “The Dark-Money ATM Of The Conservative Movement” And Funded ALEC. “Founded in 1999, Donors Trust (and an affiliated group, Donors Capital Fund) has raised north of $500 million and doled out $400 million to more than 1,000 conservative and libertarian groups, according to Whitney Ball, the group’s CEO. Donors Trust allows wealthy contributors who want to donate millions to the most important causes on the right to do so anonymously, essentially scrubbing the identity of those underwriting conservative and libertarian organizations. Wisconsin’s 2011 assault on collective bargaining rights? Donors Trust helped fund that. ALEC, the conservative bill mill? Donors Trust supports it. The climate deniers at the Heartland Institute? They get Donors Trust money, too.” [Mother Jones, 02/05/13]

Donors Trust Is An “Ultra-Conservative Funding Entity” That Is “Staffed Largely By People Who Have Worked For Koch Industries Or A Nonprofit Financed By Brothers Charles Koch And David H. Koch.” “They join Myron Ebell, another non-lobbyist who has spent more than a decade working for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which has received money from ExxonMobil in the past and more recently from an ultra-conservative funding entity called Donors Trust, staffed largely by people who have worked for Koch Industries or a nonprofit financed by brothers Charles Koch and David H. Koch.” [Washington Post, 11/29/16]

Donors Trust Is An “Anonymizer” That Wealthy Donors Use To “ensure Their ‘dark Money’ Becomes Even Harder To Trace.” “The fossil fuel industry has adopted the tobacco industry’s playbook, and shared the same web of denial. The Senate Resolution made this point, calling out both the tobacco and fossil fuel industries for having: ‘(A) developed a sophisticated and deceitful campaign that funded think tanks and front groups, and paid public relations firms to deny, counter, and obfuscate peer-reviewed science; and (B) used that misinformation campaign to mislead the public and cast doubt in order to protect their financial interest’ Their tactics have grown more sophisticated, for example using money anonymizers like Donors Trust to ensure their “dark money” becomes even harder to trace.” [The Guardian, 7/18/16]

Big Oil Companies May Have Used Donors Trust And Donors Capital Fund To Anonymously Finance Climate Change Denial Groups. “Democratic senators have asked ExxonMobil to turn over any evidence the company, its foundation or its affiliates donated, or matched employee donations, to Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund. Those organizations began funding climate change denial groups in the mid-2000s, not long after ExxonMobil pulled its direct funding from those groups. The senators believe ExxonMobil used Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund as a secretive way to fund climate change denial research.” [Washington Examiner, 11/5/15]

Donors Trust Has Contributed $1,142,000 To Sutherland Since 2012.

Donors Capital Fund Has Contributed $324,000 To Sutherland Since 2012. 

The Industry-Backed State Policy Network Is A Major Contributor To Sutherland Institute 

The State Policy Network’s Funders Include Corporations Like Koch Industries. “The State Policy Network (SPN) has members in each of the 50 states and an annual warchest of $83m drawn from major corporate donors that include the energy tycoons the Koch brothers, the tobacco company Philip Morris, food giant Kraft and the multinational drugs company GlaxoSmithKline.” [The Guardian, 12/5/13]

The State Policy Network’s Funders Are A “Who’s Who Of Conservative Organizations.” “A network of think tanks across the country is quietly pushing the agenda of right-wing groups with funding from Koch brothers-affiliated organizations, a new report alleges. […] The State Policy Network’s associate members also include a who’s who of conservative organizations, including ALEC, David Koch’s Americans for Prosperity Foundation, FreedomWorks, Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform, the Cato Institute and The Heritage Foundation.” [Politico, 11/13/13]

Since 2012, The State Policy Network Contributed $231,0000 To Sutherland. 

  • The State Policy Network did not contribute to Sutherland in the fiscal years ending in 2016 and 2017. [GuideStar search, accessed 09/17/19]
  • The State Policy Network, in the FY ending 2015, gave Sutherland Institute $50,000 for “land research.” [SPN 990, FY ending 2015]
  • The State Policy Network, in the FY ending 2014, gave Sutherland Institute $65,100. [SPN 990, FY ending 2014]
  • The State Policy Network, in the FY ending 2013, gave Sutherland Institute $41,000. [SPN 990, FY ending 2013]
  • The State Policy Network, in the FY ending 2012, gave Sutherland $75,000. [SPN 990, FY ending 2012]

The Foundation For The American West, Which Shares Its Founder With Sutherland, Is A Major Funder Of Sutherland

The Foundation For The American West Was Established By Gaylord Swim, Who Also Founded The Sutherland Institute. “In addition to his investment management practice, he served on the boards of directors of EFI Electronics, Covey Leadership Center, and Eyring Research Institute, and established the Foundation for the American West, a community foundation. Gaylord spent much of his life engaged in civic affairs. In 1995 he founded the Sutherland Institute a Utah-focused public policy research organization.” [Deseret News, 02/08/05]

The Foundation For The American West Offers Its Donors “Complete Anonymity.” In a section of its website titled “advantages to the donor,” the Foundation for the American West advertises that it can give its donors “complete anonymity, if desired.” [Foundation for the American West, accessed 09/17/19]

Since 2013, The Foundation For The American West Has Contributed Nearly $1 Million To Sutherland, Though The Annual Contribution Appears To Have Dropped Dramatically In Recent Years. 

The Sutherland Foundation Receives Grants From Other Conservative Foundations

Sutherland Has Received $125,000 From The Roe Foundation Since 2012. 

The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, in the FY ending 2014, gave $15,000 to Sutherland. [Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation 990, FY ending 2014]

Table Of Known Sutherland Funders

[Source: 990s from ProPublica and Guidestar Nonprofit searches, accessed 09/16/19]

The Sutherland Institute’s Lobbying

The Sutherland Institute Engages In Substantial Lobbying In Utah

The Sutherland Institute Says Its “Mission” Is To “Shape Utah Law And Policy.” [Sutherland Institute 990, FY ending 2013]

The Sutherland Institute Boasts About Its Successful Lobbying Efforts. On its website, Sutherland takes credit for passing or defeating specific legislation, and it provides links to the relevant legislation.  Suthurland says “Passed legislation to free Utah’s public lands from federal neglect: We successfully enacted a law to help fund a lawsuit to free public lands in Utah, and a law that ensures that any lands freed from federal neglect and mismanagement will be publicly and sustainably accessible for recreation, wilderness conservation, and economic purposes.” [Sutherland Institute, archived 02/17/19]

The Sutherland Institute Currently Has Five Lobbyists Registered To Lobby The Utah Legislature. Zachary Schofield, Stan Rasmussen, Derek Monson, William Duncan, and Christine Cooke are all currently registered to lobby the Utah legislature. [Utah lobbyist search, accessed 09/17/19]

The Sutherland Institute Opposes Public Lands And Argues For Their Disposal

The Sutherland Institute Advocates For Transferring Federal Public Land To States And Even Calls For States To “Revolt”

The Sutherland Institute Helped Utah Pass A Law Demanding The Federal Government Dispose of Public Land in Utah. “KIRK SIEGLER: “A few years ago, Anderson’s group (The Sutherland Institute) helped get a law on the books in Utah that ordered the transfer of federal land to state ownership by the end of 2014. It’s so far been ignored, so Utah’s Plan B appears to be court. This month, lawmakers voted to move forward with a lawsuit against the federal government over control of 30 million acres of federal land – pretty much everything but the national parks, like Zion and Arches. MATT ANDERSON: I think it comes down to the idea of self-government and the ideas of which our country was founded on. It’s the idea that the people who know and live on the land know it best.” [NPR’s All Things Considered, 12/31/15]

The Sutherland Institute Commissioned An “Analysis” Saying That Utah’s 2012 Law Demanding The Federal Government Cede Public Lands Is “Viable” And Would “Survive Any Challenge In Court.” “A new analysis says Utah’s Transfer of Public Lands Act is a viable and defensible way for the state to control more of the land within its borders by rightfully getting that land from the federal government, despite critics who assert the law is blatantly unconstitutional. Commissioned by the Sutherland Institute’s Center for Self Government in the West, the analysis by attorney and constitutional scholar Carrie Ann Donnell lays out the legal case for HB148, which was signed into law in 2012. […] ‘The main takeaway is that the Transfer of Public Lands Act that I reviewed is perfectly constitutional,’ she said. ‘Proponents should not be deterred from moving forward because of the fears or threats around it. Legally, it would survive any challenge in court.’” [Deseret News, 12/09/13]

The Sutherland Institute Argued That The Federal Government Should Give Up Public Lands Because The Lands Have “Trillions Of Dollars In Resources.” “Five states are somewhere in the process of demanding control of federal lands to further those goals. Utah has passed a law, the Transfer of Public Lands Act, which demands that most of those multiple-use lands be turned over to state control. Four other states, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Nevada, are studying the pros and cons of making similar demands. Those states will consider bills similar to Utah’s during their 2015 legislative sessions, while several others will step up their efforts to study the issue. Work is also being done at the congressional level by Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) and others. In the end, though, just as each parcel of land will have its own unique best use, each state is probably going to have its own tailored solution. These are lands with trillions of dollars in resources, billions of dollars in potential tax revenues, and hundreds of thousands of jobs being increasingly locked up by people who really don’t understand what is at stake. And it’s not just dollars and cents.” [The Insider, Summer 2014]

The Sutherland Institute Encouraged Westerners To “Create Your Own Revolt” In Support Of Transferring Public Lands. “Self-determination, self-government—that’s what is really at stake right now in this war for the West that is picking up steam. It’s not about dollars and cents. What really matters for those who have the most to lose is basic fairness. It’s about preserving the viability and the values of our rural production economy and building a united majority of Americans who understand that good intentions alone don’t build great nations. Our philosophical war is in the West, but hopefully you’ll create your own revolt in your own back yard. There are many of us canaries in the coalmine who would be happy to help you.” [The Insider, Summer 2014]

The Sutherland Institute Vehemently Opposes National Monuments Like Bears Ears

The Sutherland Institute Led The Charge To Reduce Bears Ears National Monument And Claimed Credit When Donald Trump Ordered Their Shrinkage 

The Sutherland Institute Worked Extensively In Opposition To Bears Ears National Monument. “To achieve its purposes, Sutherland and affiliates have set up a website calling on the federal government to rescind the new national monument. They have produced anti-monument video advertisements. They have organized a petition drive. They have testified before the Utah legislature. They have traveled to Capitol Hill. They have churned out op-ed after op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune and other Utah papers. They have, in short, helped create a narrative meant to make people despise national monuments and their labor has paid off.” [Pacific Standard, 05/11/17]

Sutherland Hosted An Anti-Bears Ears Press Conference In Washington, DC With Members Of The Utah Congressional Delegation. “Utah’s congressional delegation, Gov. Gary Herbert and some Navajo residents from San Juan County made a direct plea to President Barack Obama on Wednesday to refrain from designating the Bears Ears region a national monument. The press conference Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol was live-streamed on Sen. Mike Lee’s Facebook page, generating hundreds of simultaneous comments as monument opponents urged that the southeastern Utah region be left alone by the president.” [Deseret News, 09/21/16]

The Sutherland Institute Claims Credit For Persuading Donald Trump To Reduce Bears Ears And Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments. Sutherland’s list of 2017 “successes” describes its influence on Utah and the federal governments. Sutherland claimed that it “persuaded the Trump administration to reconsider harmful national monument designations.” [Sutherland Institute, archived 02/17/19]

DOI’s “National Monument Review Outreach Rollout Plan” Ignored Tribes And Conservation Groups While Identifying Extremist Groups Including The Sutherland Institute As Stakeholders. The communications plan includes an “implementation list” includes phone calls to governors, Congressional offices, and “other external supportive stakeholders.” The stakeholder list includes several extremist groups that advocate for wholesale transfer of federal public lands to states, including ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), Sutherland Institute, Americans for Prosperity, Heritage Foundation, PERC (Property and Environment Research Center), and FIRM (Foundation for Integrated Resource Management). [Monument Communications and Outreach Plan, 09/19/17 (p.25-30)]

The Sutherland Institute Authored The Utah Legislature’s Resolution Opposing Bears Ears National Monument

Documents Obtained Through Open Records Requests Show That The Sutherland Institute Authored The Utah Legislature’s Anti-Bears Ears Resolution. “New documents obtained by a Montana-based government watchdog show that a conservative think tank is the primary author of a Utah legislative resolution earlier this year calling for the elimination of the Bears Ears National Monument. The Western Values Project provided emails to E&E News obtained under state open records laws that show the Sutherland Institute wrote the resolution approved by state lawmakers in January that urged President Trump to rescind the 1.35-million-acre monument. Both Utah state Rep. Ken Ivory (R) and the Sutherland Institute acknowledged that the resolution was produced by the think tank…” [E&E, 07/12/17]

The Sutherland Institute Praised The Resolution On Twitter. Sutherland Institute, in January 2017, tweeted, “#BearsEars resolution passes with a vote of 60-14 ?? #utleg #utpol.” [Twitter, 01/31/17]

The Sutherland Institute Organized A Front Group To Oppose To Bears Ears And Mischaracterize Tribal Opposition To The Monument By Elevating The Voices Of A Few Citizens Who Were Not Elected To Any Tribal Position

The Sutherland Institute Launched An Advertising Campaign And Website Called “Rescind Bears Ears” Through A Front Group Called “Stewards Of San Juan County” To Oppose Bears Ears National Monument. “A website and advertisement campaign launched this week is taking aim at rescinding Bears Ears National Monument, emphasizing the impact the monument has on San Juan County residents. The website, rescindbearsears.org, created by the Stewards of San Juan County and the Sutherland Institute, focuses on how the monument negatively impacts those living near it. ‘Local voices are the most important voices in this debate because no one has to live with the land management decisions that are made around the monument like the people who actually live in the area have to,’ said Matt Anderson, a policy analyst at Sutherland Institute.” [KSL, 05/22/17]

  • Stewards Of San Juan Was A “Partnership” With Sutherland Institute. [Stewards of San Juan, archived 03/24/17]
  • Sutherland Produced A TV Ad Featuring “Native Americans From San Juan County” Who “Plead With The President,” “Don’t Take Our Land.” [Sutherland Institute, 05/20/16]
  • Ryan Benally, The Son Of Former San Juan County Commissioner Rebecca Benally, “Helped Create” Stewards Of San Juan. “‘It made [my mom] realize how Native Americans are being used,’said Ryan Benally, son of Navajo Democratic County Commissioner Rebecca Benally, who helped create Stewards of San Juan County. Rebecca Benally, the only Native American to tour with Zinke (at least on the first day), has been a strong vocal monument opponent. ‘She took offense to that, and she has never wavered from that.’ He noted that while Native and environmental interests may dovetail, they are not identical.” [Indian Country Today, 05/12/17]
  • But The Group’s Registered Agent Is Phil Lyman.  [Utah Business Entity Search, accessed 09/17/19]
  • Lyman Is An Anti-Public Lands Extremist Who Once Told Navajos They Shouldn’t Have A Seat At The Table Because They “Lost The War.” “In 2015, Noyes documented incidents dating back to 2012 for a discrimination report issued by University of Utah professor Dan McCool, which was part of a lawsuit the Navajo Nation filed against San Juan County, alleging violations of the Voting Rights Act. They included a statement by San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman, saying the Navajos ‘lost the war’ and have no right to comment on public land management and ranchers in San Juan County telling American Indians to ‘get back on the reservation.’” [Salt Lake Tribune, 05/24/16]

The Sutherland Institute Bragged That It “Gave A Voice To These Native People.” “These special interests overlooked the fart that Bears Ears is home to 15,000 people whose history, culture, and future are deeply rooted in this land. The Sutherland Institute gave a voice to these native people through a campaign that propelled this local grassroots issue into the national spotlight.” [Southern Policy Network, 08/31/17]

But In Truth, All The Tribes With Land Adjacent To The Monument, Including Six Of Seven Navajo Chapter Houses, Supported Monument Designation. “Because of this deep connection to the land, protecting the Bears Ears as a National Monument is supported by seven Tribes in Utah, thirty Tribal governments throughout the southwest, and the majority of the citizens in San Juan County and in the State of Utah. Six of the seven Navajo Chapter Houses in Utah have passed resolutions of support for Bears Ears. This proposal is also supported by the National Congress of American Indians that represents nearly 300 Tribes. ‘It is concerning to say the least, that Rep. Bishop and members of the Utah delegation recently proclaimed interest in co-management of the lands with Tribal nations, yet they intentionally conflate the positions of individuals as being equal to that of locally elected leaders and sovereign Tribal Nations,’ stated former Navajo Nation Council Delegate and Utah Diné Bikéyah board Chairman Willie Grayeyes.” [Utah Dine Bikeyah, 09/21/16]

  • After Trump Shrank Bears Ears, Utah Navajo Chapter Houses Voted In Opposition To The Order By A Majority Of 98 Percent. “In the past 90 days, all seven Utah Chapter Houses of the Navajo Nation that surround the Bears Ears National Monument in San Juan County, Utah were given the chance to vote on resolutions to block President Trump from taking action to diminish Bears Ears. Local Native American citizen support was nearly unanimous at 98% (with 163 Navajos in favor, and 3 opposed.)” [Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribal Tribune, 12/01/17]

The Sutherland Institute Worked Closely With Energy Fuels, The Uranium Company That Opposed Bears Ears

The Sutherland Institute Listed Energy Fuels’s Mill And Mine Near Bears Ears As Reasons To Oppose Monument Designation.  The Sutherland Institute, in March of 2017, produced a video featuring Logan Shumway, the “mill manager” for Energy Fuels’s White Mesa mill. Shumway says the mill currently has “about 100 employees.” Shumway says one of EF’s “permitted mines is in the current (National Monument) proposal… without that mine, we don’t have anything to do here at this mill, and we have to lay people off and send people home.” [Sutherland Institute, 5/15/17]

Matthew Anderson Of The Sutherland Institute Wrote An Op-ed In February Of 2017 Praising Logan Shumway. Matthew Anderson of the Sutherland Institute wrote, “If Patagonia and other retailers were located in our state’s rural areas, like San Juan County, they would rub shoulders daily with some amazing people and come to understand what our public lands mean to rural Utahns. They would get to know get to know Logan Shumway and hear about his hunting trips to the Abajo Mountains.” [Salt Lake Tribune, 02/17/17]

Energy Fuels Tweeted A Link To A Website Called “savebearsears.com,”a Site Administered By The Sutherland Institute. The website is no longer active or operated by Sutherland, but archived historical domain data shows it was owned by Sutherland. [Twitter, 08/23/16] and [Domaintools search, accessed 09/17/19]

Energy Fuels Lobbied The Department Of The Interior To Reduce Bears Ears National Monument. “When Energy Fuels first reached out to Interior, it only mentioned the mill and the mine. ‘I worked on energy and environmental policy for Mr. Trump during the campaign. I have a client that I would like to get before the Secretary, Energy Fuels,’ Wheeler wrote in a March 27 email to Amanda Kaster, at the time one of Zinke’s aides. ‘They have two uranium facilities bordering each side of Bears Ears national monument in Utah. They can come to DC at any time. What is the best way for me to request a meeting with the Secretary? I’m just not sure who I should reach out to,’ Wheeler said. On April 5, Wheeler, Energy Fuels executive William Paul Goranson, and Darrin Munoz, another lobbyist at Faegre Baker Daniels, met with Kathleen Benedetto, at the time a senior adviser to Zinke, according to visitor logs and Benedetto’s schedule. Her schedule was first obtained by independent journalist Jimmy Tobias via a public records request.” [Roll Call, 03/04/19]

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The Foundation For Integrated Resource Management (FIRM)