Chapter Meeting Jun 6

 

     Miguel Perla, Southern California organizer for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, will brief us on the fight to protect public lands in Utah.

 

     Find out what we can to do from California to protect the Bears Ears and other national monuments that are now threatened.  Join us at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday June 6 at the San Bernardino County Museum, 2024 Orange Tree Lane, Redlands.

 

     Established in December 2016, Bears Ears protects 1.35 million acres of public lands in Southeast Utah. Bears Ears contains about 10,000 cultural sites and it includes areas sacred to several Native peoples. The campaign to establish the monument had Native American tribes and environmental groups working side by side. Uniquely, it is managed by a coalition of five Native American tribes together with the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service.

 

     But local Utah elected officials have long advocated for the transfer of public lands from federal protection to the state’s hands. Most recently, President Trump’s anti-environmental rhetoric has emboldened them to push back or even try to do away with protections for public lands. The State of Utah has officially asked President Trump to reverse Bears Ears’ national monument designation, an action that would have no precedent. Efforts are also under way in Utah to reduce the size of Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.

     As Californians who love the outdoors, we value the amazing people, beauty and wonders that are found throughout Utah and believe it is our responsibility to keep those public lands free from development. We understand the sanctity these places have for Native people and their desire to preserve these places for future generations.  

     Californians need to take a strong stance against rolling back protections for these wonderful places. Please tell our California congressional representatives to not waver in their support for the protection of public lands.  

     Miguel has consulted for Sierra Club campaigns in the past such as the Beyond Coal Campaign in the City of Los Angeles, as well as the Campaign to Shut Down the San Juan Generating Plant in New Mexico.  He knows the important role Californians play nationwide in promoting progress in the environmental movement.