From the Bear Den: Issue 5

Updates, upcoming events, community features

B.E.A.R. Stop Stratos

Jul 07, 2026

From the Bear Den

Issue 5

Box Elder Accountability Referendum(B.E.A.R.) •

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• July 6, 2026

StopStratos.org

In This Issue:

June 25th commission meeting recap, legal update, news articles, upcoming events, and more!

The Legal Update

Since last week’s newsletter, we do not have any new legal update at this time.

Events Recap

July 4th

The parades we walked in went very well, in spite of the heat! Shannon and several volunteers walked in both the Willard and Perry parades, and myself(Brigette) and Farrah(you might recognize her as the face of our social media), along with my kids and one amazing volunteer(special shout out to Carlos!) walked in the Honeyville Parade.

HELP WANTED

To apply for a support role, fill out the

Volunteer Form

*All positions in B.E.A.R. are volunteer positions.

Current Roles we are seeking:

Table helpers for events!
Parade walkers for the upcoming Little Valley Days in Mantua, 24th of July, and local festival season!
People ready to be boots on the ground when we can gather signatures!
Newsletter helper!
Our amazing social media manager is looking for people to interview about how they feel the data center will affect their way of life! Here’s her video!

If you are willing to do any of these things, please fill out the volunteer form above, and/or email/message us!

If you want to do an interview with the lovely Farrah, you can message the B.E.A.R. Instagram page!

If you have already filled out the volunteer form, somebody should be reaching out to you shortly if they haven’t already - if you have not had any contact and it’s been more than a couple weeks, please reach out to us! (We are learning new things every day to streamline the process! Thank you so much so far for your patience with us.)

Press corner

News articles featuring the Box Elder Accountability Referendum Team and other relevant news

July 4, 2026

July 5, 2026

This Data Center Is Everything That Everyone Hates About AI

Discussions on Data Centers

Some of the biggest concerns I hear over and over in discussions about data centers that I have out in the wild is everything that’s been discussed time and time again. The great salt lake, our drinking water staying uncontaminated and safe, utilities staying somewhat affordable, our taxes not going up anymore, the air not getting any more polluted than it already is, the temperatures not rising any more than they already are, the effects on the wildlife, and farm animals, and concerns about noise pollution.

All of our concerns are valid - especially as we see more evidence come out of the areas that already have data centers.

What are YOUR concerns? Did I miss something?

Submit your responses!

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Mark Your Calendar!

Upcoming Events

Box Elder County Commission Meeting

July 7th, 5pm
Commission Chambers
Box Elder County Courthouse
01 South Main Street, Brigham City, Utah

DATE CHANGED

July 8, 2026

Now July 14th 2026

Grow the Flow Panel in Brigham City!

USU Brigham City Campus
Autoliv Auditorium
6pm

SAVE THE DATE!

Saturday, July 11, 2026
Stratos documentary screening!

8:30PM
Shuman Park, Tremonton
210 N Tremont St

Little Valley Days in Mantua(18th), 24th, County Fair, Peach Days

We have several parades coming up in the next couple of months and could use a large showing of support to walk in the parades. We need Box Elder County to see that there are many people who support putting this issue on the ballot for residents to vote on.

We encourage you to wear orange and green if you have those colors. We hope to have shirts available very soon that people can receive as a donation gift.

Please respond which events you can attend to walk with us. We will need people to carry the banner, pass out flyers, pass out stickers or candy. It should be a lot of fun!

*Please note that more details will be forthcoming and some changes will likely be made.

July 18th-Little Valley Days in Mantua UT.
Meet at the LDS Church at 237 Willard Peak Rd, Mantua UT 84324 at 9:15am.

July 24th-Bear River City meet at the LDS Church at 8:15am.
5870 N 4700 W St, Bear River City, UT 84301

SAVE THE DATE

August 26th- Box Elder County Fair Parade
Anticipated line up ~4pm

September 12th-Peach Days parade
Anticipated line up ~9am

Voices from the Den: What’s On Your Mind?

A newsletter shouldn’t just be a one way street, it’s a community megaphone. Moving forward, this section belongs entirely to you. This is where we will feature your thoughts, letters to the editor, questions, and personal perspectives on the future of Box Elder County.

We did get a couple Letters to the Editor submissions this week!

Box Elder County Commission Gambled with the County’s Future

Bruce W. Parker, Ph.D., AICP

(5/27.2026)

The Box Elder County Commission approved a 50-year interlocal agreement for the Stratos data center on May 4, 2026. The agreement’s duration and its effects on over 64 square miles (41,200 acres) will shape the county’s future for generations. All environmental, archaeological, cultural, and other issues should have been the subjects of independent, in-depth, and credible evaluative studies prior to the County Commission’s approval. A robust and rigorous process designed to protect the public interest requires nothing less. The County Commission should also have requested an accurate and independent fiscal impact study that considered the County’s immediate and long-term financial well-being. The County Commission did not see it necessary to include an independent fiscal impact study before voting on Resolutions 26-11 and 26-12, which authorized the Stratos data center. Every economic projection and every anticipated payment to the county originated from O’Leary Digital or Utah’s Military Installation and Development Authority (MIDA). The County Commission entrusted the county’s fiscal well-being to the boosterism of others.

Referencing the two resolutions passed by the County Commission (Resolution 26-11 and Resolution 26-12, on 5/4/2026), Commissioner Tyler Vincent said, “Today’s decision isn’t the end of the oversight process, but just the beginning” (County News and Press Releases at https://www.boxeldercountyut.gov/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/82). Commissioner Vincent, I disagree. You seemingly did not understand the provisions of Resolution 26-12, which created an interlocal agreement between Box Elder County and MIDA. Twelve hundred (1,200) acres, or 3% of the total Stratos project area controlled by the US Department of Defense, was sufficient for you and the other Box Elder County Commissioners to grant MIDA the authority to bypass various county processes. Except for police, fire, and ambulance services, and snow removal on dedicated county roads, MIDA has all other powers “to the same extent as though (MIDA) were a municipality.” The terms of Resolution 26-12 make it clear. The County Commission, with the approval of Resolution 26-12 and with the service exceptions noted, recognized MIDA to act as a municipality, like any other Utah city or town. The services expressly provided to MIDA include “road grading permits and inspections; land use approvals, building permits, inspections, letters of completion, certificates of occupancy; and business licenses” (Resolution 26-12). While the County may remain involved in some items, all substantive matters related to Stratos and the Project Area are now in MIDA’s hands. Without any verified, accurate data, including independent fiscal analyses, the County Commission moved quickly and blindly forward. On May 4, 2026, with the approval of Resolutions 26-11 and 26-12, the Box Elder Board of County Commissioners abrogated their obligations to the residents of Box Elder County. In so doing, they gambled with the County’s future and the well-being of existing and future county residents.

Do Anything, Anywhere, at Any Time: How Box Elder County’s Failure to Zone Left Residents Exposed

(6/16/2026)

For years, Box Elder County ignored a fundamental responsibility: establishing comprehensive zoning protection for all residents. Large areas of the County remain unzoned. Perhaps through convoluted reasoning, the Board of County Commissioners (County Commissioners) believed they were protecting property rights. That reasoning came home to roost in May 2026, when the County Commissioners approved the Stratos Data Center on unzoned land. The Stratos Project is the inevitable consequence of years of inaction that allowed anything, anywhere, at any time, on the County’s unzoned areas. Questions to be asked and answered: whose rights were the County Commissioners seeking to protect without a zoning designation, and why should some unincorporated properties be zoned while others are not?

Box Elder County adopted its General Plan in 2021 as a blueprint to guide growth and development. But with vast areas of the County unzoned, neither the County’s Planning Commission nor the County Commissioners could achieve the plan’s vision. In November 2025 (5 years after General Plan adoption), the County’s Planning Commission Chair delivered a stunning fact: “Box Elder County is the only county in Utah that still has unzoned property,” and that lack of zoning “complicates our duties.” Every other county in Utah recognizes that comprehensive zoning is essential to responsible governance. The Planning Commission requested County Commissioner approval to initiate zoning for all unzoned areas. The County Commissioners should have acted. Instead, they delayed, and within a few months the consequences of inaction became clear. By leaving vast swaths of Box Elder County unzoned, the County Commissioners neglected their responsibilities and left County residents vulnerable to exactly the kind of industrial mega-project that materialized with the Stratos Project. This was preventable. Had the County Commissioners heeded the Planning Commission’s November 2025 request or acted years earlier to implement the General Plan, the County would have achieved land-use management over all unzoned lands while protecting the property rights of all owners. A simple zoning structure that recognized existing grazing, ranching, and other activities on unzoned lands would have avoided the Stratos fiasco and protected the rights of all County residents. Concurrently with Ordinance No. 654, which establishes a temporary 180-day land-use regulation for data centers, data center power plants, and associated digital infrastructure, the County must immediately publish a notice of pending ordinance and commence the required process to establish an acceptable zoning structure for all remaining unzoned areas in Box Elder County. The County Commissioners should seize this opportunity and act, and property owners and residents must ensure they do so. All Box Elder County residents and property owners deserve the same protection as every other Utah county provides.

Bruce W. Parker, Ph.D., AICP

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Cave Paintings

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The Backyard

Pull up a chair and relax! The fight to protect our county is hard work, so this is our space to slow down, share a local recipe, and challenge our brains.

Here is this week’s puzzle! Zero votes means Editor’s Choice!
You can click the puzzle to play or print.

The Picnic Basket

The community recipe corner! If you have a recipe you’d like to share with the community and see featured here, please send it over to:

Let me know if you’d like your name included as the contributor, just initials, or if you’d like to remain anonymous, and if you’d like any social media linked.

This week’s recipe:

Share your favorites with us!

Feedback & suggestions

Did we miss something? Want to see something added? Constructive feedback is always welcome! (Please don’t make me cry.) Thank you so much for reading, subscribing, and for just being you. We couldn’t do this movement without you.

Brigette Cottam

Box Elder Accountability Referendum Mama B.E.A.R.