canyon
A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...
along
Recapture Creek
''Recapture'' is a 1930 drama in three acts by Preston Sturges, his third play to appear on Broadway.
The Broadway production was directed by Don Mullally and produced by A. H. Woods. It opened on January 29, 1930, at the Eltinge 42nd Street T ...
(a
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
San Juan County, Utah
San Juan County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 14,746. Its county seat is Monticello, Utah, Monticello, while its most popul ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It is an
archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
, and is located on
federal land
Federal lands are lands in the United States owned by the federal government. Pursuant to the Property Clause of the United States Constitution ( Article 4, section 3, clause 2), Congress has the power to retain, buy, sell, and regulate federal l ...
. The
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...
closed it to
motorized vehicle
A motor vehicle, also known as motorized vehicle or automotive vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of people or cargo.
The veh ...
s in 2007 due to damage caused by illegal trail construction.
Recapture Canyon contains dwellings, burial sites, and artifacts of the
Ancient Pueblo peoples
The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, an ...
, including
cliff dwelling
In archaeology, cliff dwellings are dwellings formed by using niches or caves in high cliffs, and sometimes with excavation or additions in the way of masonry.
Two special types of cliff dwelling are distinguished by archaeologists: the cliff ...
s built between 1150 and 1300 AD.
On Saturday May 10, 2014, San Juan County Commissioner
Phil Lyman
Phil Lyman is a resident of Blanding, Utah who currently represents district 73 in the Utah House of Representatives
The Utah House of Representatives is the lower house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state o ...
organized a protest aimed at legally opening the trail to
all-terrain vehicle
An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is stra ...
s. The protest attracted several militia members from the
Bundy ranch
The 2014 Bundy standoff was an armed confrontation between supporters of cattle rancher Cliven Bundy and law enforcement following a 21-year legal dispute in which the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) obtained court orders directin ...
.
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...
undercover agents documented the illegal ride. Lyman was convicted of misdemeanor trespassing, for which he served ten days in jail and paid restitution of $96,000. On December 22, 2020 Lyman, was pardoned by President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...