Ian Brickey, ian.brickey@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Bureau of Land Management released a proposed Resource Management Plan for the Bears Ears National Monument. The plan, which proposes significant Tribal collaborative management for one of the country's largest national monuments, now enters the final stage of environmental review.
The final plan was developed after years of collaboration between the five Tribal Nations of the Bears Ears Commission – the Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Zuni Tribe, Hopi Tribe, and the Navajo Nation – and federal agencies. Bears Ears is a significant national monument due to its cultural and environmental importance in the region, but also for the role Tribal Nations played in its designation and its subsequent management.
President Obama designated Bears Ears as a national monument in 2016, responding to years of Indigenous action urging protection for this landscape in Utah. As part of the designation, the Bears Ears Commission was created to guide its management. Donald Trump slashed the monument’s size by 85% in 2017, but President Biden restored the Monument in 2021.
The proposed plan now advances to a 30-day protest period, as well as a 60-day “governor’s consistency review” before the final record of decision.
In response, Jackie Feinberg, Sierra Club’s National Lands Conservation Campaign Manager, released the following statement:
“Indigenous people have been essential to the stewardship of Bears Ears since time immemorial, and this plan would continue that stewardship for generations to come. For years, Tribal voices were ignored when it came to the management of public lands – with disastrous effects. Today’s announcement demonstrates that federal agencies and Tribal Nations can collaborate to preserve the cultural, environmental, and biodiversity legacies of these special landscapes.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.