President Barack Obama on December 28 designated 1.35 million acres in southeast Utah and 300,000 acres in Nevada as two new national monuments.
In Utah, the designation of another 1.35 million acres will create the Bears Ears National Monument. The monument is situated to the east of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and to the south of Canyonlands National Park.
The land includes sacred sites, along with well-preserved Pueblo settlements that date back more than 3,500 years. According to National Geographic,the site includes “soaring red-rock formations, piñon-juniper mesas, 12,000-foot-high mountain peaks, and secluded sandstone canyons that harbor well-preserved prehistoric dwellings and rock-art panels – more than 100,000 Native American cultural and archaeological sites in all. It’s among the most significant archaeological areas in the United States.”
For the first time, Native American tribes will offer management input for a national monument through an inter-tribal commission. The federal government already owns about two thirds of the land in Utah, and the new monument will put another 1.35 million acres under its care.
Most Utah politicians are strongly against Obama’s move. Republicans in the state have struggled for more than three years to draft a bill that would both protect the land and allow for development.
“This arrogant act by a lame-duck president will not stand,” Utah Senator Mike Lee (R) said in a statement on Wednesday. “I will work tirelessly with Congress and the incoming Trump administration to honor the will of the people of Utah and undo this designation.”
Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R) wrote in a statement, “The midnight move is a slap in the face to the people of Utah, attempting to silence the voices of those who will bear the heavy burden it imposes. Furthermore, the decision is a major break with protocol previously followed by this administration. It does not have the support of the Governor, a single member of the state’s Congressional delegation, nor any local elected officials or state legislators who represent the area.”
Meanwhile, the Gold Butte National Monument, northeast of Las Vegas, has been a site of contention for more than 15 years. According to National Geographic, the designation “will protect ancient petroglyphs, winding canyons, mining ghost towns, sweeping vistas, and a host of desert wildlife, including endangered desert tortoises and bighorn sheep.”
Some of the land, which is currently managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM), is also grazed by cattle belonging to the Bundy family, which in 2014 led a widely-publicized armed standoff with the Bureau of Land Management. The dispute has still not been resolved.
In a statement, Obama said his decision would “protect some of our country’s most important cultural treasures, including abundant rock art, archaeological sites, and lands considered sacred by Native American tribes. Today’s actions will help protect this cultural legacy and will ensure that future generations are able to enjoy and appreciate these scenic and historic landscapes.”
Obama has invoked his executive power to create national monuments 29 times during his tenure, establishing or expanding protections for more than 553 million acres of federal lands and waters.
Politicians have vowed to fight to repeal the actions once Donald Trump is president. Trump’s Interior secretary pick, Ryan Zinke, is reportedly in favor of changing the law — the 1906 Antiquities Act — that allows the president to designate monuments without the approval of congress.
Photo courtesy Bear Ears
