Just before the Bush administration shut the White House door, they offered a parting gift to the energy industry. On December 19, 2008, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) auctioned off hundreds of thousands of pristine acres surrounding Utah’s treasured national parks for oil and gas exploitation. Environmental groups protested, but one University of Utah student stepped across the proverbial “line in the sand”.
Tim DeChristopher entered the BLM auction, was offered bidder’s paddle #70, and by the time he put his hand down, had won 22,000 acres of glorious red-rock for 1.8 million dollars with no intention to pay or drill. After Salt Lake City’s six o’clock news, thousands knew his name. Patrick Shea, a former Director of the Bureau of Land Management, offered to represent him, “pro-bono”, should he need it.
Bidder 70 is Tim DeChristopher’s story. It’s the story of a young man fed up with corporate control of his government; it’s the story of the power of individual choices and their consequences. It’s the story of a principled young man and the bravery of his commitment to a livable world.
On February 9, 2009, the new Obama administration’s Secretary of Interior, Ken Salazar, confirmed DeChristopher’s opinion and invalidated the entire auction because of the land’s “proximity to landscapes of national significance” and because proper regulations weren’t followed in the auction. Nevertheless, on April 1, 2009, Tim was indicted on two federal felonies with penalties of up to ten years in prison and fines of $750,000.
Outrage at his indictment and delight with his brilliant monkey-wrenching quickly turned Tim into a climate-justice folk-hero. Bidder 70 follows Tim as he maneuvers legal purgatory over two years and nine trial postponements. With the threat of prison looming, DeChristopher stepped up his activism and matured into a charismatic, ingenious, non-violent climate justice leader. After one postponement, he placed an ad on craigslist to find a qualified candidate to run against Salt Lake City’s four-time incumbent “blue dog” Democratic congressman, Jim Matheson. On a tiny shoe-string budget, his “citizen’s candidate” forced a run-off in Salt Lake’s Democratic Primary.
On February 28, 2011, hundreds of supporters marched and danced in the streets of Salt Lake City as Tim’s trial began. Judge Benson disallowed all Tim’s lawyer’s defense motions including where the land was located and that the auction was illegal. After five-days, DeChristopher was found guilty on both counts. His sentencing was set for July 26, 2011. Instead of quietly backing down, Tim rushed to D.C., where he was the keynote speaker at Power Shift 2011, a national gathering of 10,000 energized students. The next day, he led hundreds of students into the Department of Interior for the first “Occupation” of 2011.
On July 26th Tim was sentenced to two years in federal prison, immediately handcuffed and removed from the court in chains. In solidarity, his supporters sat down in the busiest intersection in Salt Lake City, blocked traffic and trains, and refused to move. Twenty-six supporters were arrested.
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