Speaking at a news conference earlier this month, Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland stated, “I’m here to listen. I’m here to learn,” after touring the Butler Wash Ruins Overlook in Bears Ears National Monument. Haaland met with stakeholders to determine restoring the original park’s boundaries, along with those of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
“This has been a special trip, and I deeply appreciate the many people who took time to share their wisdom, perspectives, and prayers with me,” said Haaland in a statement. “How we manage public lands and national monuments is important—not just to the tribes and ranchers and elected leaders and others who I met with this week, but to the many generations to come.
“I look forward to sharing what I heard and saw with President Biden, so he has the benefit of these perspectives as we chart a path forward on the stewardship of these incredible culturally rich places.”
Former President Donald Trump reduced the size of both monuments in 2017, stating “we have seen harmful and unnecessary restrictions on hunting, ranching, and responsible economic development.” Environmental groups and tribal nations challenged the reduction of the monument’s boundaries in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing only Congress has the authority to reduce a national monument.
The Biden administration is considering restoring the original boundaries of the park following President Joe Biden’s January executive order. On the first day of Haaland’s visit, she met with the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition and Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, who urged Haaland to expand Bears Ears to 1.9 million acres, increasing from the original 1.35 million acres and the current boundary of 202,000 acres. Nez said adding the additional acreage would incorporate “many historical and cultural sites, plants, water, traditional medicines, and teachings for our people,” which were not included in the original border.
Haaland also met and toured with a Utah delegation which included Gov. Spencer Cox (R), Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson (R), Reps. John Curtis (R-3) and Blake Moore (R-1), as well as Sens. Mitt Romney (R) and Mike Lee (R). Speaking at the press conference, Romney said it would take the hard work of Native American leaders, Congress, state and local leaders to find a resolution and he hopes Congress can “come up with a permanent solution through legislation.”
“I really do think there’s an opportunity for people who want to be able to use this land, regardless of what we’re going to call it, to use it for the purposes they intend for their families and for their future,” Romney said.
The delegation called on Biden to stop the “ping-ponging” and legal battles regarding the monuments and urged Biden not to use the Antiquities Act for a quick fix. Under the Antiquities Act of 1906, presidents are permitted to set aside public lands as national monuments to protect areas of cultural, scientific and historical interest.
“Ping-ponging is probably the wrong word because ping-pong is fun,” Cox said at the news conference. “There’s nothing fun about what we’ve been arguing about over the past decade. Can we find the solutions? I think there is an opportunity for that, to provide the resources that are needed. But all of those things can only be done through legislation.”
In addition to meeting with the delegation and tribal leaders, Haaland also held closed-door meetings in both Kane and San Juan Counties that included state, county and city leaders; local ranchers; conservation organizations; local business owners; mining companies; outdoor recreation permit holders; paleontologists; and archaeologists.
San Juan County Commissioner Kenneth Maryboy told the Salt Lake Tribune he would like to see Biden restore the Bears Ears Monument boundaries but is open to legislation. Maryboy, a member of the Navajo Nation who previously served on the board of Utah Dinй Bikйyah, a Native American-led grassroots nonprofit organization, said the tribal coalition had spent several years working with recently retired Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT-1) on legislation and what the boundaries of the monument should be, including expanding them.
Kane County Commissioner Andy Gant told the Deseret News he hopes Haaland will treat the two monuments differently from each other and not combine the decision.
“The folks in San Juan County have a very different attitude toward Bears Ears,” Gant said. “We support our state and local [Bureau of Land Management] in their management of the Grand Staircase-[Escalante] and want those management plans to stay.”
Haaland said at the press conference her report to Biden will reflect the conversations she had with stakeholders who know and understand the area.
“The earth holds so much power. We must all work together to honor it,” Haaland said in a Twitter post while hiking at Valley of the Gods in Bears Ears National Monument. — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
