Steven Shank

ENG 2010

Profile Project adaptation

Tim DeChristopher

Timothy DeChristopher was a 27-year-old

college student attending the University of

Utah in 2008, before he found himself

participating in the very federal land auction

he had come to protest. After winning several

auctions and accumulating a tab of nearly $2

million, DeChristopher was removed from the auction for the disruption he was causing.

The federal land auction DeChristopher had disrupted was a sale of parcels of BLM land

in central Utah to oil and gas companies for

resource exploration. Being an

environmentalist, DeChristopher took it upon

himself to put a stop to the sale of public

lands for exploitation for fossil fuels.

 Central Utah and southern Utah are areas rich in fossil fuels, which are sold for

exploration in such federal auctions.

DeChristopher’s actions ultimately

caused the auction he attended to be

nullified, but these types of sales still

occur, although under tighter

regulations because of the fallout

from the DeChristopher case.

Once he was escorted from the auction, DeChristopher was taken to jail and

subsequently fined $10,000. Before his

case could be heard, a new administration

took office, and the new Secretary of the

Interior, Secretary Salazar, found the BLM

auction DeChristopher participated had

broken rules, resulting in dismissal of the auction.

 For his actions during the land auction,

DeChristopher was praised by environmental

activists from across the country. His supporters

marched in cities in protest to his prosecution under

the banner “Bidder 70,” coined after the bidding

number DeChristopher was assigned when he purchased nearly $2 million in BLM lands.

On March 3, 2011, more than two years after the auction incident, DeChristopher was

charged with two felony accounts and sentenced

to two years in federal prison. He was charged

with one count of False Representation, and one

count of violating the Federal Onshore Oil and

Gas Leasing Reform Act.

From the time the story of DeChristopher’s defiant actions reached the public, to the

time he was finally charged, environmental activists

publicly rallied in Tim’s support, and for the sacrifice

he was making. Demonstrators in Salt Lake City,

where the incident initially occurred, marched on

the State Capitol building in support of

DeChristopher and his actions.

 Once DeChristopher was released in April of 2013 after serving 21 months in federal

prison, he retold his story in the film “Bidder

70.” The film covers the efforts and frustrations

Tim went through prior to the sentencing trial,

ending with his final sentencing. The film

gained notoriety and helped spread awareness on the issue of environmental conservation.

In the years after his ordeal with his federal court

case, DeChristopher helped start an environmental

activist group called “Peaceful Uprising,” with the

saying “Defending a Livable Future Through

Empowering Nonviolent Action.” Peaceful Uprising

also has 12 core principles that condemn injustice

and promote creating a “healthy and just world.”

The second core principle seems to emulate

DeChristopher’s sacrifice, noting that human stories

have the ability to transform others.

 Most recently, DeChristopher and Peaceful Uprising have been fighting to stop a

Canadian tar sands mining company from gaining access to eastern Utah. The Company has

already leased a 32,000-acre plot of public land, but Peaceful Uprising is trying to stop the

mining because of the harm it would do to the local ecosystems and human populations. It is

clear, Tim

DeChristopher still

continues his work

for environmental

activist.
Works Cited (in order as presented above):

http://www.peacefuluprising.org/climate-trial#story

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/01/16/oil-and-gas-industry-targets-utahs-molen-reef-a-treasure-
trove-of-ancient-rock-art/

http://www.kuer.org/post/blm-postpones-oil-gas-auction-accomodate-public-interest#stream/0

https://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/tim-dechristopher-peaceful-uprising-movement-transformed-
courage

http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=52263987&itype=CMSID

http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=54043206&itype=CMSID

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.libprox1.slcc.edu:2048/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=ca1bf070-
a42a-48f0-93aa-d9b4a92495b9%40pdc-v-sessmgr02

http://www.timdechristopher.org/bidder_70

http://www.peacefuluprising.org/about/peaceful-uprisings-core-principles

http://www.peacefuluprising.org/action/no-tar-sands/no-tar-sands-pledge