Former Great Old Broads Director and Husband Will Face Trial

Two Durango environmentalists who are facing charges related to an incident in Southeast Utah last April are set to go to trial next year in 7th District Court in Monticello, Utah. The Durango Herald reports that Rose Chilcoat, a former associate director for Great Old Broads for Wilderness who retired in 2016, and her husband, Mark Franklin, were charged following an incident in which a Mexican Hat rancher alleges they closed a gate to a corral to keep his cattle from getting to a water hole. The Herald reports the cattle did have access to water another way and were not in danger. Both Chilcoat and Franklin have pleaded not guilty to charges including trespassing on trust lands, a misdemeanor, and attempted wanton destruction of livestock, a felony. Chilcoat is set to go to trial January 31st and Franklin on February 1st.