Friday, March 12, 2010

Gregory Reyes on Court Room

I am writing this letter in regards to Greg Reyes. My name is Josh Miller and I am a 36 year old rancher from Wendell, Idaho. I was born and raised In Logan, Utah where my family still operate the business my great grandfather started in 1898.1 have a wildlife resources background and have spent 3 years working for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources as a bio-technician on the Great Salt Lake. I have also worked 12 seasons at the Bear River Club Company also on the G. S. L. and 10 seasons in Alaska, both as a wildlife guide.

I was introduced to Greg Reyes in June of 2001 in Alaska. Greg was the new owner of a wilderness lodge where I was already employed. The first thing Greg did was sit down with all of the lodge employees and ask, "What can we do to make things better?". He listened and cared about everyone's opinion and suggestions. He believed in the vision and trusted our decisions. The following summer we shut down the business during a already short season and renovated and improved the infrastructure of the lodge. We cut the amount of guests and increased the amount of employees. Everything we did cost him more money and produced more overhead. Greg trusted his new staff and their vision to preserve recreation in Katmai National Park. Today and for future generations people will be able to enjoy this untouched wilderness because of Greg's efforts.

One of my goals in life was to protect and manage land that is critical to the success of western wildlife and their habitat. Many lands in the west are purchased by developers and critical habitat is being destroyed in the process. After many discussions with Greg, I realized we shared the same love of the outdoors. I presented him a plan to find and purchase critical land in Idaho that is in jeopardy of being lost to developers. Greg trusted that I would use my knowledge and experience to identify possible locations. In 2004, Greg purchased hundreds of acres along the Snake River and was able to preserve the land in between Idaho's treasured Thousand Springs Preserve and Box canyon Preserve. Thousands of people are benefitting from the committement Greg has made by saving one of the states last natural gems. Greg's busy schedule only enabled him to do a 30 minute initial tour of the property. He trusted my judgement and ability to acquire the property and take care of all the details to ensure that this property was preserved.

Last spring my 65 year old mother died of breast cancer. It was the hardest thing I have ever experienced. Greg cared about my mother and asked about her every time we talked. He called me a lot during my darkest hours and helped me to be stay strong for the rest of my family. I have 3 compassionate voicemails from Greg I resave every 28 days on my phone, I play his messages when I have a bad day. Shortly after my mother's passing, my father was diagnosed with cancer and Greg immediately came to our aid. As with my mother, he always offered his support in any way he could. I attended over 3 weeks of Greg's trial this summer and everytime I spoke or saw Greg the first thing he would ask was, "How is your dad doing?". I have learned so many important life lessons from Greg. He truly cares amout me and my family and constantly shows it.

I have spent a lot of time with Greg and his family. Ali of his activities are scheduled around his children and wife. Whenever Greg is away from home I always hear him call his family and ask them how their day was and tell them that he loves them, he never forgets. He inspires me to start my own family. Greg loves his children and wife with all his heart. It is so obvious when you are around them. He speaks to them with respect and love and lives to be in their presence. Greg's children love and need their father. This situation Is hanging heavy on his children's hearts and I feel his family are being punished for a true injustice. Greg's children need their father and Penny needs her husband.

Greg has been a true positive influence on me and taught me many important life lessons. He always treats me with love and respect. I admire Greg's values and I know he is a man of honor. I am proud to be Greg's friend and I believe strongly in his innocence. Please take this letter into consideration when determining Greg's fate.




Realtime Court Status


Gregory Reyes

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