Biden's administration will use its executive power to restore environmental protections for Bears Ears National Monument. This vast, sacred area in Utah is under the biden administration. This is four years after Trump removed protections from Bears Ears and reduced its area by 82%.
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The White House announced Friday that Biden would restore the monuments' 1.35 million-acre boundaries. The announcement is being celebrated by indigenous communities.
We are grateful to President Biden for restoring Bears Ears National Monument back to its original vision. He also incorporated Antiquities Laws into the protection of our homeland to stop vandalism and desecration, Hank Stevens, a spokesperson from the Navajo Nation, stated in an emailed statement.
Biden will also restore protections for two other monuments that Trump has slashed protections on: Grand Staircase–Escalante, Utah, and Northeast Canyons Marine and Seamounts Marine, Rhode Island.
Tribes Need Bear Ears
Bears Ears National Monument is a rugged stretch red rock and juniper forest on a high plateau. It is sacred to the Navajo Nation (Navajo Nation), Zuni, Utah Din Bikyah, Hopi, and other nearby Indigenous nations. The land has been home to Tribes for over 13,000 years.
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This is the place where many Indigenous people learned to grow corn and make arrowheads. It is still a popular place to visit for ceremonial herbs, sand and art supplies.
The landscape has not been always protected. Bears Ears National Monument designation was won in part by Indigenous-led organizing, particularly by the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, and the Native-led nonprofit Utah Din Bikyah. These groups pressured Obama to protect public lands. Obama did so in December 2016.
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This was a small positive in an era of centuries-long colonial violence against Indigenous peoples, which the Trump administration resolutely took back. Native organizers claimed that Biden is honoring his cultural and ancestral connections to the land by restoring protections.
Why Else Bears ears National Monument Is Important
Tribal communities are not the only ones who need to reinstate protections for Bears Ears. Paleontologists know that fossils can be found on the land dating back hundreds of thousands of years.
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The Utah Geological Association published a landmark study last year that showed the region has a geologic record that includes significant events in the evolution of life on the planet. This includes the Middle Pennsylvanian Period and Cretaceous Periods, Pleistocene and Holocene periods. Scientists discovered such amazing finds as the jaws of a phytosaur, a crocodile's early ancestor, in Utah over 220 million year ago. They also marvelled at the rich paleontology of the area. These scientists were rightfully angry about the shrinking of the monument and the opening up of the lands for extraction.
The monument was also supported by the majority of the public. Analysis after analysis has shown that recreation provides a greater economic boost than extractive industries.
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What's next for the Monumentand beyond?
Republicans are not thrilled by the restoration of protections for Bears Ears.
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Instead of seizing the chance to bring unity to a region divided and provide resources and protections for sacred antiquities, President Biden inflamed the flames of controversy. He also ignored the input of the communities near these monuments.
This could cause more disputes, and even potential lawsuits from ranchers or mining groups. Native organizers want to see more of the Biden administration's moves. They hope he will continue working with Tribes to manage the land and now call for a comprehensive Land Management Plan to be created for the Bears Ears area.
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The Monument has never been lost to us. In an email statement, Chairman Shaun Chapoose of the Ute Indian Tribe Business Committee, and Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition stated that we will always return to these lands in order to manage and protect our sacred sites, waters and medicines. The federal government has an historic opportunity to learn from and incorporate tribal land management practices we have developed over the centuries. They are more needed now than ever.
Deb Haaland, Interior Secretary, was the first Indigenous person to hold this post. She helped convince the administration to restore protections. Haaland offered a fresh path forward that would allow Indigenous groups to return land and promote a different set values for public resources. This could be a step towards achieving those goals.
