The Great Deception

I remember vividly the moment of revelation at the Gateway Conservation Alliance meeting in July 2023, when the leadership unexpectedly confessed that their publicly voiced environmental concerns were merely a facade to oppose the location of our gravel pit project. This admission was a jolt, revealing that the arguments about wildlife preservation and water quality were strategically deployed to rally community opposition against the gravel pit. It was a stark exposure of how genuine environmental advocacy could be twisted for ulterior motives. See our conversation from the meeting below.

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“Would you guys consider a pit on the east/south side somewhere on your upper ranch versus pit on your lower farm fields? Would it be considered as an alternative? We could turn our negative effort in fighting this into a positive one to support it.”

Gateway Conservation Alliance Leadership

“What bothers me about doing a gravel pit on our upper place is that we can chuck all your environmental concerns out the window because that’s carbon sequestering grass land that’s being used as a giant filtration system, closer to the river and it’s an established elk migratory area.”

Bayard Black

“Go ahead, It can be completely restored. Call us hypocrites, call us whatever you like, we’re all NIMBY’s and we’re all hypocrites, let’s get that behind us. What we’re saying is that if you do it up there, we can help and put whatever force and might we have behind it. It would be easier to work with you than against you. If you and your family would substitute one for the other, then we could get behind your pit and push it forward.”

Gateway Conservation Alliance Leadership

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Disheartened and disillusioned, I resolved that this meeting would be my last with the Alliance. There’s a profound betrayal in discovering that issues as critical as environmental conservation are being manipulated to serve hidden agendas. My frustration isn’t directed at my neighbors, many of whom were misled by these deceptive tactics, but rather at the orchestrators of this charade—well-organized, well-funded groups who prioritize their interests over communal well-being and environmental integrity.

I urge my neighbors to approach this issue with a healthy skepticism and critical thinking. Yes, the process of gravel pit reclamation will take time; meaningful progress often does. Instead of siding with those who have openly admitted to hypocrisy, I invite the community to consider supporting our project, which promises substantial environmental benefits for our area. Let’s choose to invest in long-term environmental health rather than be swayed by short-term deceit.