Sally JewellIt’s no surprise that Interior Secretary Sally Jewell would pay a visit to her liberal luminaries in Aspen, but to completely ignore the crisis her agency has created in Craig, and refuse a side-trip there to hear the community’s concerns?

We’re gobsmacked.

The Colorado Statesman reported that Jewell will give a speech at an Aspen Institute event Friday and that Moffat County Commissioner John Kinkaid has noted the snub.

 “The optics of the secretary giving a speech in Aspen and not including a side trip to northwest Colorado are horrible,” Kinkaid said. “We are at the epicenter of Department of Interior activity and our miners need to her from her.”

This is either the worst political timing EVER, or it is intended as a clear signal to northwest Colorado that the Obama administration cares nothing for their concerns, or the impact their actions would have on the region.

If Jewell refuses to leave the comfy confines of Aspen, then the good folks from Craig and Meeker should come to her by the busloads with signs and bullhorns to protest at her appearance and support the Colowyo Mine.