After nearly four years of limbo, Bears Ears National Monument has been restored. Read more about President Biden’s proclamation, the reaction from advocates and politicians, and the next steps for shaping the future of Bears Ears.
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The latest news from the Bears Ears beat includes a “strange bedfellows” story, a battle over oil and gas leasing, and a reflection on the “stunning and sacred” landscape advocates hope President Biden protects by restoring the original Bears Ears National Monument.
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President Biden took the first step toward restoring Bears Ears National Monument. Tribes, conservationists, and Utah politicians weigh in and plot their next move.
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It's been four years since former President Barack Obama established Bears Ears National Monument, and a new chapter in the ongoing saga is about to begin. What the Biden administration plans to do about Bears Ears.
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Host and Producer Brenden W. Rensink , Associate Director of the Redd Center, Associate Professor of History at BYU, and General Editor of the Intermountain Histories project interviews Rebecca Robinson and Stephen Strom about their books: Voices from Bears Ears: Seeking Common Ground on Sacred Land and Bears Ears: Views from a Sacred Land.
CLICK HERE to listen to the podcast.
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Environmentalists, tribes blast Utah national monument plan - KUTV, 7/27/19
Perhaps the most controversial component of the plan is its opening large swaths of archaeologically significant land to off-road vehicle use - something both conservationists and Native peoples see as insulting to tribes and dangerous for fragile landscapes.
But this isn’t the only story keeping the BLM in the headlines.
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We recently caught up with Charles Wilkinson, Moses Lasky Professor of Law at the University of Colorado Law School and asked him to reflect on the history of public lands battles in southeast Utah, the significance of the Bears Ears National Monument established by former President Barack Obama in 2016, and his predictions regarding the lawsuits challenging President Trump’s reduction of the Obama monument in late 2017.
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A small sampling of the latest Bears Ears news for your reading pleasure.
Southern Utah Uranium Producers Hope Trump’s Trade Decision Will Benefit Them - Salt Lake Tribune
New Advisory Panel for Bears Ears National Monument Becomes Latest Flashpoint in Debate - St. George News
Tensions high as residents comment at meeting - San Juan Record
We caught up with Josh Ewing, Executive Director of Friends of Cedar Mesa on a day when he was acting as “sole parent in charge” of the Bears Ears Education Center in Bluff, Utah. The newly-established Center opened in fall 2018
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While the fate of Bears Ears awaits the outcome of litigation, one of the proponents of the monument designation — the nonprofit Utah Dine Bikeyah (UDB), whose Native-led efforts to preserve land and culture helped secure protection of Bears Ears — has initiated efforts aimed at working with San Juan County officials to identify potential paths toward a more robust economic future.
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This Science piece takes an in-depth look at how paleontologists are racing against time to find, document, and protect fossils in areas cut from the original monument by President Trump before mining companies and off-road vehicles further endanger them.
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“I think they may have set a really good precedent and created a template for other tribes to protect their ancestral lands. Out of all of this mess, what’s most promising is that we see a real ripple effect [that can] change the conservation movement and elevate the voices of historically underrepresented groups who really are the First Peoples of the planet.”
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Lawsuit and management plan updates:
Bears Ears, Grand Staircase lawsuits will stay in D.C. as judge rejects Trump administration motion to move them to Utah
Trump Loses Ground to Environmentalists in Utah
An update on Bears Ears management plans
File under Delicious Irony: San Juan County has launched a splashy new campaign, “Make it Monumental,” which highlights the county’s spectacular public lands and the national monuments within its borders. This is the same county whose elected officials have loudly opposed the creation of Bears Ears National Monument and supported the efforts of Utah’s congressional delegation to abolish the Antiquities Act - the same law that allows presidents to establish (you guessed it) national monuments.
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Hello, Readers! After a sleepy start to summer on the Bears Ears beat, controversies are once again blazing like so many wildfires burning across the West. Here are the top stories from Bears Ears country:
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The dramatic natural beauty of Bears Ears Country cannot be overstated. Below are a number of interactive panoramas which allow you to explore the landscape. Click on the image and use your mouse or your finger to navigate the panorama from any angle or perspective.
Enjoy!
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As the battle over Bears Ears proceeds in the courts of law and public opinion, those who live and make a living near Bears Ears are shifting their attention toward planning a future with or without a monument.
The continued presence of Bears Ears in national headlines has kept the visitors coming in San Juan County, Utah, and local businesses and tourist attractions are reaping the benefits.
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Today is the final day for the public to submit comments on the BLM's management plans for the Trump administration's much-reduced Bears Ears National Monument. Groups such as Utah Diné Bikéyah(UDB), a Native-led nonprofit whose advocacy for the protection of Bears Ears led to the creation of the original monument proposal by Native American tribes, has urged its supporters to participate.
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Normally, we bring you a variety of stories exploring different facets of the Bears Ears debate, but this week we're interrupting our regularly scheduled programming to focus on one explosive story.
The investigative piece in question: a detailed investigation by New York Times reporters Eric Lipton and Lisa Friedman, "Oil Was Central in Decision to Shrink Bears Ears National Monument, Emails Show."
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Two weeks of updates for the price of one! Here's what you may have missed on the Bears Ears beat:
Curtis holds hearing to explain, hear input on bill - San Juan Record, 2/13/18
Utah Rep. John Curtis, who represents residents of the Bears Ears region, has gotten an earful from constituents and politicians on both sides of the aisle who either love or hate his "Bears Ears bill." (The bill, which would memorialize the reduction of the Bears Ears National Monument, is explained more fully here.) The venerable San Juan Record covered a community meeting in San Juan County in which Curtis at turns explained and defended his bill before admitting it was likely as good as dead.
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