Protect Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalente National Monuments
You can comment at suwa.org/comment. Also, here is info from High Country News. Here is sample letter from Beverly Kurtz:
"President Trump and Secretary Zinke,
I have spent most of my adult life recreating in Utah. I am a hiker and river runner and I believe that the areas protected by Bears Ears and Grand Staircase – Escalante are invaluable national treasures that must be protected. As a trained archaeologist I have been thrilled by the amazing array of archeological sites that have been protected in these monuments. Even now those are often under assault by unscrupulous “pot hunters” – but at least the monument designation gives them some additional protection. The beauty of the landscape, the opportunity for solitude and connection with our wild heritage is beyond that found anywhere else in the world.
There is a lot of misinformation being shared about how these monuments came into being and I implore you to look at the FACTS, not just the CLAIMS.
- Although Native Americans are split on the issue of Bears Ears, leaders of the Navajo Nation and more than two dozen other tribes joined in requesting the designation of the monument. Six out of seven Navajo chapters in San Juan County officially supported designation
- Polls showing that a majority of Utahns opposed the creation of the monument differed significantly from polls done when former President Obama’s name was removed from the polling questions – reflecting a general dissatisfaction with the president as opposed to opposition to creation of the monument.
- The monument designations are not a federal “land grab”. There were significant public comment periods and participation by all stakeholders in gathering input on the planned designations. The administration had numerous exchanges with Utah officials and several top federal land management officials traveled to southeastern Utah, met with local officials and held a public hearing in Bluff that was attended by approximately 1000 people. All of the land designated was already managed by federal land agencies. No private, state or other land was “grabbed”.
- In response to local concerns, Obama left nearly 600,000 acres out of the original proposal, land that holds potential for motorized recreation and extractive industries. Traditional Native American uses are explicitly preserved.