Erica Lukes, executive director of Expanding Frontiers Research and host of its YouTube show, kicks off the new year by welcoming this writer for a brand-new episode. The show airs live Friday, Jan. 3, at 7pm EST. Discussion topics will include EFR's latest research and resulting FOIA responses, as well as directions for 2025 and the organization's community of supporters. Join us live as we begin EFR's third fiscal year.

Video: Executive Director Erica Lukes takes a look back at 2024 It was a jam-packed year of entertaining videos and informative blogposts at Expanding Frontiers Research. Check out the video above, "EFR 2024 Year in Review," featuring Executive Director Erica Lukes considering just a sample of the many people, issues, and topics explored by EFR during 2024. From sociologists, journalists and filmmakers to paranormalists and museum curators of the macabre, Erica interviewed them on the EFR YouTube channel . The dozens of shows included a thought-provocative discussion with anthropologist Dr. Jeb Card , a trip down the rabbit hole with cult expert Rick Alan Ross , and consideration of the drone reports with writer and video analyst Mick West . Meanwhile, here at the EFR blog, we continued publishing results of records requests filed on a regular basis, as well as expanding our instructional material on the topic. EFR delved deeply into activities and events in Utah through the Government Records Access and Management Act. We also continued our use of the Freedom of Information Act as a research tool to clarify otherwise often murky circumstances. To learn more about using the FOIA, check out our free Patreon collection of videos and blogposts. You'll find content including how to submit a request, a template to use, and how to negotiate responses from agencies such as the FBI and National Archives. The public content is freely offered as a service to enhance research through use of the FOIA. Paid subscribers additionally access records as we receive them, video calls, and more. We hope you find our work beneficial and valuable. We encourage you to join our community of financial supporters at the EFR Patreon page and ask that you keep EFR in mind as you plan your year-end giving. You may also make a one-time donation through the secure link on the homepage . Thank you for your continuing interest and support. Happy holidays and best of new years.

DCI Phantom quadcopter UAV for commercial and recreational photography In a Dec. 9 episode of Expanding Frontiers , host Erica Lukes and guest Mick West explored what can be discerned about the New Jersey drone reports. While a number of factors worthy of consideration contribute to the circumstances, one of the more important points to arise was the ways the public may take more ownership of the situation and be less dependent on authority figures and often poorly vetted sources to inform its views. Expanding Frontiers Research is proud of the leadership exhibited by Erica Lukes in examining the situation with objectivity and authenticity. What resulted was a meaningful conversation on collecting evidence, what gives it value, and, as Dr. Tyler Kokjohn observed , opportunities for interested parties to do their own research and leave behind a previous reliance on search engines and dubious actors to tell them what is and is not populating the sky. Lukes facilitated West explaining the process of most effectively recording and documenting a potential drone sighting. This may of course also apply to UFOs, UAP, or many other phenomena of interest. When the witness records even ambiguous video of a target, proper documentation of the circumstances may help identify the object in many instances. Perhaps equally importantly, it may include being unable to identify the object through traditional means such as flight patterns and use of websites that offer related information that may be used as tools. That process of elimination may assist in identifying any reports of interest that rise out of the pack of misidentifications and low information. This facilitates taking a proactive investigative role and shedding a passive dependency on statements from public officials, dubious UFO researchers, and social media influencers who often hold a wide range of agendas and poorly formed conclusions that influence our perceptions. When considering posting a drone or UAP video or report, first of all, make a conscious decision whether it is wise for you to publish your video and information on the internet. Give some thought to what you would do with your evidence before you ever go drone or UFO hunting. If you happen by your evidence in a random chain of events, like grabbing a clip while loading groceries in the car, it is still advisable to consider whether or not you go public with it. Are you recording from your apartment building or is it a public place, like a parking lot or intersection? Will you be willing to publish your name, or would you prefer to provide your evidence to an investigator in confidence? These are issues to consider. Also recommended are instructional videos produced by Aerial Phenomena Investigations (API). They have you covered for issues ranging from tips for shooting the most effective phone-video on the fly to how to pack a field investigator kit and conduct research on the regular. API also clarifies policy on protecting witness information and related privacy issues about submitting reports. Once you have your video, whether happenstance or the result of an intentional hunt for evidence, there is information you need to document. This includes the location, time, date, and direction. Documenting this information will give you and investigators the highest chance of successfully identifying the object(s) recorded or concluding that it does not match conventional go-to explanations. As Mick and Erica recently discussed (timestamped at 18:40): Once recorded, you may then investigate your video by correlating the important information with what can be gleaned from various websites that provide, for instance, flight traffic and positions of celestial bodies based on time and location. You may of course also submit your video with the documented information to Mick's website, Metabunk , or API as referenced above. Lastly, let us here at EFR know what you learn. We're all about the process and facilitating its improvement. It is not necessary to wait for others to tell you what is and is not flying around. Go get some footage and learn the most effective way to investigate what it reveals.

Salt Lake City journalist, filmmaker, and entrepreneur Richard Markosian joins host Erica Lukes for what is certain to be a wide-ranging and thought-provocative discussion. Catch the show Friday, Dec. 13, 6pm EST live on YouTube or view it later in its entirety. Please like and subscribe to the EFR channel while you're in the YouTube neighborhood. Richard Markosian Richard, who has described himself as a storyteller, took his passion for the richness of the experiences of local farmers and craftspeople and created Utah Stories Magazine. As the name implies, he and his colleagues at Markosian Media explored both the issues and people who shape and influence Utah. Richard's work has included short films on urban planning and development, as well as issues surrounding gentrification, in such documentaries as "The Death of Main Street Salt Lake City." Richard and his wife Golda launched the Made in Utah Festival in 2014, further demonstrating commitment to local trade and commerce. In 2019, Richard started the Utah Stories Show, an entertaining and informative podcast, that continued to bring the lives of Utahns to a public which empathized with and understood their stories. Erica's discussion with this documentarian of the richness of the experiences of life is certain to be both informative and entertaining. Thank you to Richard Markosian for being a guest on Expanding Frontiers and thank you to our readers and viewers for your ongoing interest and support.

Erica Lukes takes on the New Jersey drone reports in a special edition of Expanding Frontiers. She and guest Mick West explore the circumstances surrounding what have become citizens and law enforcement officers alike reporting drone activity on a seemingly nightly basis. What can actually be determined from the reports? To explore the possibilities, join Erica and Mick live Monday, Dec. 9, 7pm EST . Mick West Guest Mick West is an American science writer, skeptical investigator, and retired video game programmer. He is the creator of the websites Contrail Science and Metabunk, and he investigates and debunks pseudoscientific claims and conspiracy theories. He is the author of Escaping the Rabbit Hole: How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories Using Facts, Logic, and Respect . West has appeared in various media including CBS, CNN and Scientific American as an expert conspiracy analyst and science communicator.

Law enforcement considered the possibility J.Z. Knight, who purportedly channels Ramtha, requested the 1992 murder of a Washington man, according to a cold case update written in 2014 by a detective of the Thurston County Sheriff's Office. The document was recently obtained by Expanding Frontiers Research as part of a now-year-long ongoing release of records responsive to Ramtha's School of Enlightenment . Joe Sumrall was beaten and strangled to death in 1992 at his trailer in Thurston County, Washington. The still-unsolved crime was undeniably enmeshed with Knight and her Ramtha group. Sumrall was a follower of Knight, who leads the Ramtha school, described in police records as a cult-like organization that espouses a philosophy of spiritual channeling. Police determined Sumrall was bound and forced to tell one or more perpetrators where approximately $20,000 in Canadian one-ounce maple leaf coins were hidden. The scene of the Joe Sumrall murder Sumrall's wife discovered his lifeless body in their trailer about 11pm the night of April 3, 1992. She had just returned from the Ramtha property. Their two-year-old son was sitting outside in their truck, strapped in a child restraint seat and unharmed, according to a 1993 case synopsis . Officers suspected Sumrall interrupted a burglary or that the child was placed in the car seat rather than left alone unattended. After years of the crime remaining unsolved, police got a new lead in 2013. That's when news surfaced that a former Ramtha student, Virginia Coverdale, made a social media post about a potential suspect. The circumstances implicated Knight and the case was again actively under investigation. Coverdale, however, refused to disclose the name of the individual and other details to Knight's attorneys. More doubt was cast upon the Ramtha camp when Coverdale leveled concerning accusations of abuse taking place inside the 80-acre Ramtha compound. The Thurston County Sheriff's Office reportedly informed the media in 2013 that, while Knight's name certainly came up during investigation of the Sumrall murder case, she was not a person of interest. A February 2014 cold case update suggested otherwise. “I received a tip that Sumrall was murdered at the request of JZ Knight,” a detective wrote. “I was given the name of a former RSE member that reportedly killed Sumrall.” The possible suspect reportedly fled the United States after the crime but may have returned. They apparently used multiple social security numbers to remain difficult to track. From the cold case update: Ramtha School of Enlightenment was emailed and offered an opportunity for Ms. Knight or a spokesperson to comment for potential inclusion in this article. It did not immediately respond. In the 1993 case synopsis cited above, challenges to law enforcement created by the Ramtha school were addressed. Knight “caters to individuals with too much money and not enough brains,” a detective wrote. “The followers are generally well-educated and affluent. This has created the problem for us of handling well-to-do folks living in close proximity to those who are not.”: Records previously obtained from the Thurston County Sheriff's Office document many more crime reports responsive to Ramtha and Knight's followers. These involve murders, burglaries and a variety of violent crimes observable through hundreds of law enforcement reports, memos, digital images, digital audio recordings, and similar files. Several cases involve followers returning from Ramtha activities to discover their dwellings had become crime scenes. Multiple emails were sent over the previous year in an effort to provide personnel from Ramtha's School of Enlightenment opportunities to comment. No responses were received.

Tune in for a special Black Friday edition of Expanding Frontiers with Erica Lukes when the talented and popular John E.L. Tenney joins her and this writer on Friday, Nov. 29, at 7pm EST. The discussion airs live on YouTube . Actively involved in paranormal, anomalistic and conspiratorial research for decades, John E.L. Tenney has been published in magazines and newspapers world-wide. His books and columns cover material from ufology to hauntings and cryptozoology to conspiracy theories. He has been interviewed extensively on the topics, and his signature "Weird Lectures" series is estimated to have been attended by over 100,000 people at conferences and gatherings. Tenney has consulted and appeared in productions from NBC to The New York Times and many outlets in between. He is a talented artist and musician, and his "Realm of the Weird" was formerly selected Best Podcast in Michigan by Real Detroit Weekly. Lately, he may be found co-hosting events and chatting with Jessica Knapik on the popular "What's Up Weirdo?" podcast. Scroll to the bottom of this webpage and subscribe for updates to receive email alerts for blogposts like this one. You'll be informed about every EFR blogpost right in your inbox. Also, and if you have not done so already, please consider joining our Patreon supporters . Your financial support helps with video production, website maintenance, fees associated with our FOIA work, and similar general operating expenses. Expanding Frontiers Research is a Salt Lake City-based nonprofit organization, tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.

Two FBI files responsive to Sen. Barry Goldwater were received this week from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The files were provided in response to an ongoing Freedom of Information Act request first submitted to the FBI by Expanding Frontiers Research in 2022. Recently received was file number 56-HQ-3591, concerning a Ukrainian named Dmytro Zawolskyj and his distribution of at least seemingly pro-Goldwater campaign material. The file was compiled as part of an FBI Election Laws investigation in 1964 when Goldwater was the Republican nominee for president. The FBI investigation was launched when the Republican State Committee of Arizona filed a complaint to the Bureau. The complaint objected to the distribution of a circular in Phoenix that cast Goldwater into racial dispute. The racist and offensive circular, as depicted in the file obtained this week by EFR: Subsequent FBI investigation revealed the circular was distributed by Dmytro Zawolskyj, identified as a Polish Ukrainian who spoke very little English. Zawolskyj claimed to be unaware he was doing anything wrong, although his actions did not necessarily support that claim. For instance, the owners of the print shop - where the Ukrainian had copies of the circular printed – told the FBI the man had multiple print jobs and would always refuse to sign for the orders. Zawolskyj told the Bureau he distributed some 975 copies of the 1,000 circulars he paid to have printed. FBI records indicate he would manually place the flyers in mailboxes in Phoenix neighborhoods and on the windshields of cars at the Arizona State Capitol building. He ultimately signed a statement for the FBI, denying any malicious intent and qualifying he would cease distribution of the circular. He also wrote a letter of apology to the Arizona Republican State Committee. The second of the two files, number 56-HQ-4636, was also compiled as part of an Election Laws investigation and created from 1972-1987. It pertains to a complaint filed by Congressional candidate Mark Novak about the financial activities of the rival Goldwater campaign. Novak complained that a group titled Goldwater Associates required financial contributions for entry. Members would then receive preferential treatment and increased access to Goldwater. This created campaign violations, Novak argued, including not registering the group properly. To the credit of the Bureau, it followed up and even went as far as interviewing Goldwater and a key staffer about the allegations. Goldwater suggested, in effect, there was a bit of salesmanship taking place in revenue creation, and that members of Goldwater Associates received little to nothing more than the general public. Apparently, the culture of the day saw this as less problematic than actually giving donors increased access in exchange for their financial support. Moreover, Goldwater asserted, that whether right or wrong, every political candidate was doing similar. The general may have had a point on that one. The FBI initially provided EFR over 400 pages of previously released records in response to the 2022 FOIA request. The Bureau advised additional records were withheld. EFR subsequently appealed the withholding, resulting in the release of 23 pages in April 2023. The additional 23 pages included FBI investigation of a 1962 alleged plot to kill Goldwater, later identified as a hoax. The records obtained through appeal also included investigation of a former 1950s State Department Security Officer and CIA applicant, Edward Ellis Smith, whose career was compromised due to his relationship with a Russian woman. He went on to campaign for Goldwater as the presidential nominee in 1964. FBI informed EFR of the existence of more records in the custody of NARA in response to the 2022 FOIA request. EFR requested the additional records from NARA in August 2022 and received them this week after applicable fees were paid for pdf reproductions. The late Barry Goldwater was an Air Force major general and five-time Arizona Senator (1953-1965, 1969-1987). He lost his White House bid to Democrat incumbent President Lyndon Johnson in the 1964 election. Goldwater was among the high-profile supporters of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) and joined its Board of Governors in the 1970s. “I and my colleagues on the Board of NICAP think it is high time more independent research on UFO's [ sic ] was undertaken,” the Senator wrote in a published letter of support ( see pp4-8 ). Among the things that actually happened, however, was in 1978, Nazi propaganda began arriving in the mailboxes of NICAP members when then-president of the UFO org, Jack Acuff, sold NICAP mailing lists twice to anti-Semite Ernst Zundel. FBI records responsive to Zundel and his Nazi publishing house, Samisdat, were obtained by EFR and revealed the FBI identified him as persuasive and extremely dangerous. “If this man should contact gullible people who's values are completely twisted, he could become a real threat,” an FBI report warned. The trail of the errant NICAP mailing lists led to “Christoff Freidrich,” a now-known alias of Ernst Zundel, who acknowledged ownership of Samisdat. Some defended Acuff's actions or at least argued he did not know “Freidrich's” intent to use the mailing lists as Samisdat tools for distributing Nazi propaganda. Others were much less convinced, apparently including “Freidrich” himself. “Freidrich told [NICAP representative] Dr. McIntyre that he had bought the NICAP mailing lists from Acuff two times with Acuff's knowledge where they were going,” at least one publication reported ( see pp1-2 ). Goldwater went on to chair the Senate Intelligence Committee from 1981-1985. Staffer Charles Lombard, heavily implicated as a CIA asset, joined Goldwater on the NICAP Board of Governors, as covered in this writer's book, Wayward Sons: NICAP and the IC . Lombard helped facilitate the acquisition of NICAP and its files into the Center for UFO Studies, assisting in negotiations that took place from approximately 1978 to 1982.

Career intelligence officer Gen. Albert C. Wedemeyer was targeted by a Communist campaign that was carried into “every part of the United States,” Louis F. Budenz told the Senate Internal Security Committee in 1951. The initiative was conducted by Russian assets as well as the organizations they infiltrated, Budenz testified, according to FBI records obtained from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The Senate Internal Security Committee was headed by Sen. Pat McCarran and also known as the McCarran Committee. It was formed to investigate the enforcement of the Internal Security Act of 1950, along with the investigation of espionage and related subversive activities taking place in the United States. Louis Budenz, an author, converted Communist, and controversial FBI paid informant, told Committee Counsel Robert Morris the Soviet campaign extended to officials in the State Department. Asked to identify the officials, Budenz replied, “Joseph B. Crew, Under Secretary of State; Lt. Gen. Albert Wedemeyer, not technically with the State Department but connected at least diplomatically with the State Department relations; Eugene C. Dooman, who was head of the Far Eastern Division, if I remember correctly, at least he was in control of the details of the far eastern policy; and Gen. Patrick Hurley, Ambassador to China, who was particularly under attack from the Communists."  As previously explored , the late Gen. Wedemeyer (1896-1989) was an influential World War II Army officer. He served extensively in the Far East, was a member of the War Planning Board that designed D-Day, and acted as an advisor for the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP). Records initially received from the FBI indicate Wedemeyer was treated cordially by the Bureau and conducted correspondence with Dir. Hoover, informing him of potential Communist threats. Wedemeyer resigned from NICAP after his name was published as an associate of the group. He never intended for his name to be made public, and NICAP regretted the general's name was released, NICAP reported in 1957 ( see p20 ). Additional records obtained by Expanding Frontiers Research include Wedemeyer's 1958 consultation with the Committee on Un-American Activities of the U.S. House of Representatives. The general advised the Committee: The term “strategy” disturbs many people, just as the word “propaganda” does. I define “strategy” as the art and science of using all of a nation's available resources to accomplish national objectives. There are four major categories of resources: political, economic, psychological, and military. If the first three of these resources – that is, political, economic, and psychological – are employed intelligently and boldly in consonance with a well-thought-out plan, it may never be necessary to use actively our military force. Obviously that is exactly what we should do at all times... Other records received to date include files containing: A 1945 FBI memo that includes Chinese News Service bulletins from the week of Nov. 5, 1945. A Nov. 8 bulletin describes Wedemeyer's activities in China, which reportedly included disarming and deporting some four million Japanese out of China. A 1959 FBI memo , Subject: Ted Powers, Security Matter. The memo documents how Wedemeyer advised the Bureau of his suspicion Powers was a member of the Communist Party while the man was hiring and supervising employees sent to Cape Canaveral Missile Base. A 1960 FBI memo on Allen A. Zoll and the Federation of Conservatives, which includes the name of an informant redacted from the memo. The material contains literature apparently printed by the Federation of Conservatives, which lists Wedemeyer as a board member. The literature qualifies a purpose of the group is opposing the "leftist campaign against the United States," and states that leftists want to destroy the Constitution, install a world government completely controlled by aliens, or foreigners (reminiscent of fascist propaganda opposing immigrants), confiscate "our gold," and similar rhetoric. Wedemeyer 1962 correspondence with FBI Dir. J. Edgar Hoover about Alexandra Tolstoy, President of the Tolstoy Foundation, and her concerns about Soviet activity. Wedemeyer 1955 correspondence with Dir. Hoover about the alleged Communist sympathies held by Harold R. Isaacs of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The latest records were obtained from NARA as part of an ongoing response to a 2021 FOIA request submitted to the FBI for material on Wedemeyer. The Bureau responded in July 2024, releasing 61 of 101 responsive pages, while also advising of several more files in the custody of NARA. EFR reported on the initial records received from FBI and submitted a FOIA request to NARA for the additional files. In subsequent correspondence, NARA advised EFR of the subject and number of pages of each requested file. Reproductions, which include pdfs, are typically available at a cost of 80 cents per page. The records totaled hundreds of pages and the request was assigned to a track for processing with an estimated time of completion of 39 months or more. EFR systematically reduced the scope of the request to smaller increments in order to keep requests in a shorter-term processing track. With each completed request, EFR requested another batch of records. There is now just one file of interest remaining from the initial request, a 250-page file of which Wedemeyer is the subject. According to an email received from NARA, it was compiled as part of a Special Inquiries for the White House, Congressional Committees, and Other Government Agencies investigation, created between 1970 and 1979. EFR has requested the first 50 pages and anticipates requesting the remaining 200 after they are received. View the master folder , containing all FBI records received to date on Gen. Albert C. Wedemeyer.

Already suffering from a backlog of cases waiting to be heard, the Utah State Records Committee monthly meetings have ground to a halt . That's because seats remaining vacant since the end of September prohibit the State Records Committee (SRC) from legally conducting business. Accusations are growing the Republican-led Utah Senate is failing to approve nominations to fill the openings in retaliation for previous SRC rulings in support of open records laws and government transparency. Those rulings include the release of the calendars of AG Sean Reyes, embroiled in controversy and questionable activity surrounding Tim Ballard, among other issues. Reyes adds to a trend of Utah Attorney Generals leaving office amid declining public trust and respect. Utah open records legislation is known as the GRAMA, the Government Records Access and Management Act. It's Utah's version of the Freedom of Information Act. An individual files a GRAMA request with an agency. If they choose to appeal the agency's response or lack thereof, they file an appeal with a Chief Administrative Officer, which is often a member of the legal staff of the agency or government office from which records are being sought. If the requester is not satisfied with the handling of the appeal, they submit another appeal to the State Records Committee. The SRC coordinates mediation meetings, schedules a live hearing if the two parties do not reach a resolution, and is the last stop of the GRAMA appeals process before court litigation. Under the best of circumstances, the process takes months and is obviously hindered by crippling the SRC through failing to fill its seats. Utah agencies have little incentive to even respond to GRAMA requests, much less grant appeals or negotiate their resolution, if the SRC is effectively ceased from functioning. Meanwhile, the backlog of appeals grows, and Expanding Frontiers Research (EFR) is among those with a case in line for review. In EFR's specific instance, the appeal also involves actions surrounding AG Reyes. Previous time invested in the GRAMA appeals process proved productive for EFR . This included an appeal of a case with Uintah County which was granted by the SRC, an appeal granted by the Utah Attorney General's Office, and a case in which an appeal was submitted to the SRC concerning the Uintah County Sheriff's Office but the records were subsequently provided during mediation, so the case was resolved without a hearing. EFR currently has a GRAMA appeal pending with the SRC as a result of a denied appeal issued by Utah County. The GRAMA request sought threatening letters reportedly mailed to Brandon Fugal, a Utah businessman, former member of the Utah Blockchain Advisory Committee, and reported owner of controversial Skinwalker Ranch. The request was part of a series of inquiries exploring circumstances that arose in 2022 when a cryptocurrency ransom was reportedly demanded of Fugal. EFR discovered through GRAMA requests that the 2022 demands were the second time Fugal directly contacted AG Reyes about apparent threats. Reyes alerted investigators, who advised local law enforcement agencies. The Attorney General's Office previously expressed the position the AG's affiliation with Fugal and The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch television show was in an exclusively personal, unofficial capacity, as Reyes has been a guest on the program and made public appearances in support of the dubious associated narratives. The discovery of the law enforcement investigations contradicted that position. While EFR obtained email chains, a sheriff's office report, and similar documentation of the interactions and circumstances, the saga has not yet been more thoroughly reported pending completion of the appeals process and related due diligence. The wrench thrown in the gears of the State Records Committee, which some argue was tossed by Republican lawmakers, further prolongs the reporting of stories of public interest. The still-pending EFR appeal was filed to the SRC in August 2024.

This writer recently had the opportunity to assist Expanding Frontiers Research Executive Director Erica Lukes with an interview of writer, researcher and former International Director of the Mutual UFO Network, James Carrion. The primary focus of the discussion was James's extensive research into the likelihood flying saucer stories were planted in 1947 newspaper articles as part of a U.S. led deception operation for the purpose of breaking the Soviet diplomatic code. He recently authored a 40-page paper on the topic, Flying Saucers: An Opening Salvo of the Cold War? , and submitted it to the International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence for consideration and review. The Oct. 25 interview is posted on YouTube, where the video description includes timestamps of discussion topics. James's research was explored at length, along with the state of UFO research; human deception as the common thread running through the UFO topic; MUFON, Robert Bigelow and the AAWSAP (Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program); Skinwalker Ranch as a myth-making machine, and much more. View the discussion: During the interview, James described a slides presentation he created and would be publishing on video. His referenced video, now available on YouTube : Visit James Carrion's blog to access his two nonfiction books available for free download. Anachronism and The Roswell Deception describe his research into the 1946-47 years of the Cold War and the manipulation of circumstances that became enmeshed with the UFO topic. James Carrion is an independent researcher. He earned an M.A. in International Studies and a B.A. in Russian Language from Florida State University. As an enlisted member of the U.S. Army, he served as a Russian Linguist and Intelligence Analyst from 1983-1989.

The unpermitted application of a pesticide on June 19 by Herriman City likely resulted in a June 24 fish kill event at Cove Pond, according to a Sep. 18 warning letter issued by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Herriman City maintains and stocks the pond used by local residents for recreational fishing. At least 500 fish were estimated to have been killed in the June 24 event. The letter: Expanding Frontiers Research obtained a copy of the warning letter as the result of a public records request submitted to the DEQ. The records released include an image of the label of the product that was used, Teton, an aquatic algaecide and herbicide containing the active ingredient endothall. Records obtained also include reports and analysis, dozens of digital images, and agency emails indicating Cove Pond was stocked with some 120 large catfish between the time of the chemical application and just prior to the fish kill event. Residents were warned not to fish the pond or eat any recently caught fish. EFR reached out for comment to the recipient of the DEQ warning letter, Anthony Teuscher, Deputy Director of Parks and Events for Herriman City. The following statement was subsequently provided in an Oct. 8 email received from Communications Manager and Public Information Officer Jonathan LaFollette: Herriman City is committed to the responsible management of all its facilities, including the Cove Pond. The incident this summer involved the application of a pesticide that inadvertently impacted the pond's fish population. We acknowledge the state's letter regarding the application and have taken immediate steps to ensure that all future facility treatments comply with necessary state permitting processes. We appreciate the partnership and guidance from the Utah Department of Environmental Quality and other state agencies as we continually work to enhance our practices. Our goal remains to maintain a safe and healthy environment for both residents and local wildlife. A request was submitted to DEQ after responsive records were first received from the Utah Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR). Records initially obtained from DWR include images of the fish kill event, personnel messages exchanged, and talking points provided to the press. The talking points referenced an investigation undertaken by DEQ, resulting in EFR submitting a request and subsequently obtaining the Sep. 18 warning letter issued to Herriman City. DEQ noted in its response to EFR that the warning letter had not yet been sent at the time the EFR request was submitted. Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment Dr. Brian Moench is the President of the Board of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment. He says commonly used chemicals – including many approved by the Environmental Protection Agency – are often still toxic and harmful beyond the target use. Moreover, those who apply the chemicals often lack adequate education and training. “A couple of months ago,” Dr. Moench told EFR in an Oct. 17 email, “Salt Lake City had a tragic event where about 200 trees along North Temple died because 'the wrong herbicide' was sprayed around the base of the trees by someone who was, nonetheless, a 'certified sprayer.' It will be two years before the contaminated soil can be expected to support replanting. And in June, Cove Pond in Herriman was sprayed with an 'aquatic herbicide' intended to kill algae, that ended up killing hundreds of fish in the pond. “These two events are examples of how pesticides (herbicides and insecticides) are indeed poisons that affect the broader biological world, inevitably causing harm far beyond the target organisms.” The idea that widely distributing biological poisons would leave beneficial plants, animals, and humans unharmed was always wishful thinking, Moench contends. It never made scientific sense, and a growing body of research is confirming how the danger of pesticides is likely exponentially greater than ever before. “A second dimension of concern emerged in the 1990s with research that showed many pesticides were also endocrine disruptors, i.e. they mimicked or antagonized critical human hormones at extremely low dose exposure, adding an entirely new level of scientific evidence of their harm to human health. Endocrine disruptors (EDCs) have been identified as causing a wide spectrum of harm, especially at the earliest, most critical stages of human development; in utero, infancy, and childhood. Because of this research, in 1996, Congress mandated EPA test all pesticides for endocrine disruption potential. In 2024, 28 years later, that still has not happened and EPA’s regulatory process largely ignores the issue. Independent researchers meanwhile have strengthened the evidence of harm from endocrine disruptors.” But now a third dimension of public health harm from pesticides has emerged in the last few years, Moench continued, and it almost certainly dwarfs the previous two. “Scientists from throughout the world are finding PFAS ('forever chemicals') in many of the most commonly used pesticides. EPA has stated essentially there is no safe level of exposure to PFAS chemicals. The presence of PFAS in pesticides can be both intentional and inadvertent, i.e. intentionally incorporated into the active ingredient or the inactive ingredients used to enhance efficacy, or from unintentional leaching from storage containers. “The now well recognized serious health consequences of forever chemicals must be added to the equation of whether the risks outweigh the benefits of pesticide use. In short, those health consequences include developmental disorders, reproductive toxicity, increased risk for multiple cancers, immunosuppression, endocrine, liver, and metabolic disorders, and damage to the brain and nervous system.” The North Temple and Herriman events have overt, easily recognizable tragic outcomes in dead fish and dead trees, Moench concluded. “But inevitably, with almost any use of pesticides, humans are exposed as well. Herbicides that are formulated to be used in aquatic circumstances, but are still capable of killing fish, are almost certainly also capable of harm to humans. But all environmental toxins have the greatest potential to cause harm at very low concentrations when exposure occurs during critical developmental windows, i.e. to pregnant mothers and their babies in utero, infants, and children. Any environmental toxins that can cause developmental harm should be considered by society to represent an unacceptable hazard. That is all the more true given that many pesticides are now proven to be endocrine disruptors, and/or versions of 'forever chemicals.'” Dr. Brian Moench further discusses forever chemicals starting at the 39:25 mark of his June 14 appearance on Expanding Frontiers with Erica Lukes: