Bears Ears National Monument Update

Still, there were some surprises in store for the secretary, including the crowd of monument defenders who showed up at his first media availability—where his motorcade idled for five minutes before he exited his vehicle—and some notable PR embarrassments. Secretary Zinke shook his finger at a young Diné monument advocate, scolding her to “Be nice! Don’t be rude!”

On the runway at the Kanab airport, his parting words to a crowd of Grand Staircase supporters chanting “talk to us” from behind the security fence were: “If I missed talking to someone, that’s the breaks.”

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Since Zinke’s Utah visit, millions of public comments in support of keeping our monuments as they are have been submitted, with 88 percent of self-described Utahns writing in favor of leaving Bears Ears alone. Secretary Zinke issued an interim report in June calling for significant reductions to Bears Ears, but failed to identify a strategy or any specifics.

By the time you’re reading this, Secretary Zinke will have made his final recommendation, and perhaps President Trump will have attempted to take action. Perhaps Secretary Zinke will have asked a dysfunctional Congress to reduce Bears Ears. At press time, we just don’t know. But with the overwhelming support of tribes, businesses, and the public, we’re prepared to meet the administration in court and in the halls of Congress, and we’ll be asking for your help.

Tim Peterson directs the Grand Canyon Trust’s Utah Wildlands Program. 

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