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On April 16, 2019, the San Juan County Commission filed a motion in federal court to withdraw from the lawsuits challenging the current administration’s plan to downsize Bears Ears National Monument. The County had previously intervened in support of the administration’s revocation of Bears Ears. The County changed its position following the outcome of last November’s elections. Two out of three of the county’s commissioners are now Navajo.

In February, the commission also passed two resolutions—one that rescinded previous resolutions opposing the creation of the Bears Ears National Monument or calling for its reduction, and another that directed the San Juan County Attorney to withdraw the county’s involvement in this lawsuit.

Taken together, these actions demonstrate forward movement in saving this National Treasure from looting, vandalism, and incompatible oil and gas development.

The National Trust, tribes, and local preservation advocacy partners deferred 19 parcels from an oil and gas lease sale on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land in southeastern Utah. For over a decade, we fought to win protections for this remarkable cultural landscape, which contains sites inextricably linked to Bears Ears and constitutes a critical part of its history. Yet over the last two years, BLM threatened significant long-term damage to these lands, dramatically increasing oil and gas leasing activity in the area east of Highway 191.

BLM did not cancel these lease sales entirely, but instead instituted a temporary deferral for approximately six months to conduct additional environmental analysis. Still, the news is a relief for indigenous people with ancestral ties to the area, including the Acoma Pueblo, the All Pueblo Governors Council, and the Hopi Tribe, who objected strenuously to this and other recent lease sales near Bears Ears. BLM indicated that subsequent consultation is likely to involve the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and tribes and other preservation advocates will have an opportunity to provide further input.

The National Trust is committed to ensuring that BLM takes the views of people affected by oil and gas leasing in the region seriously, and that BLM honors its “responsibility for the preservation of historic property that is owned or controlled by the agency.” 54 U.S.C. § 306101(a)(1).

We’ve had additional concerns with BLM’s justification of its “no adverse effects” determinations, including:

• Drawing arbitrary and overly narrow limits for assessing effects on cultural resources (half a mile surrounding each parcel);
• Making a limited effort to identify the extent and value of cultural resources included in the parcels to be leased (currently only requiring a review of existing literature);
• Refusing to assess the significance of individual cultural resources as part of National Register districts;
• Failing to consider impacts to the Alkali Ridge National Historic Landmark; and
• Failing to consider the cumulative effects of oil and gas drilling surrounding Bears Ears.

BLM has more work ahead to assure the public and tribes that it will minimize harm to priceless cultural resources and artifacts before they lease the land in question. In collaboration with local partners and tribes, the National Trust hopes to expand this temporary reprieve into significant and lasting protections for this extraordinary cultural landscape.

Since the lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s revocation of the Bears Ears National Monument was filed in December 2017, legal briefing in the case has been ongoing. After an unsuccessful effort to transfer the case to federal court in Utah, the government has now sought to have the case dismissed entirely.

Last Friday, on March 15, 2019, the final briefs on the issue of dismissal were filed. The National Trust’s Memorandum in Opposition to Dismissal filed last fall clearly outlines the reasons why the court should hear this case, uphold the integrity of the Antiquities Act and protect Bears Ears National Monument.

On March 13, the House National Resources Committee will hold an oversight hearing, “Forgotten Voices: The Inadequate Review and Improper Alteration of Our National Monuments” to examine the Trump Administration’s reduction of the protected areas at Bears Ears and Grand Staircase National Monuments.

The hearing will include remarks by representatives from the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, which is made up of Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute, Ute Indian Tribe, and the Pueblo of Zuni. The hearing will also include witnesses representing the Grand Staircase Escalante Partners, outdoor recreationists, and a paleontologist, among others.

The National Trust, which named Bears Ears a National Treasure in 2014 and is a party to a lawsuit challenging the president’s action, will be submitting testimony for consideration by the Committee. The National Trust has strongly opposed President Trump’s reduction of the Bears Ears National Monument as a violation of the executive authority vested by the Antiquities Act, a rejection of the overwhelming public support for the original monument designation, and a dishonor to Native American heritage and culture.

To add your voice to the call for careful stewardship of priceless cultural landscapes like Bears Ears, please take a minute to register your support for the Antiquities Act, one of America’s bedrock conservation and preservation laws.

Representatives Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Debra Haaland (D-NM), have re-introduced a bill that would expand the boundaries and protections for Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument.

The “Bears Ears Expansion and Respect for Sovereignty Act” would expand the national monument boundaries to encompass the full 1.9 million acres of land identified by local tribes as sacred and significant. According to a press release by Gallego’s office, the legislation would also require federal land managers to draw on tribal expertise in manage the monument’s lands and protect over 100,000 archaeological and cultural sites in the area.”

“This landscape is home to more than 100,000 artifacts and irreplaceable cultural resources that deserve protection,” said Tom Cassidy, vice president for government relations and policy for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “As we continue our legal challenge to the President’s effort to reduce the monument, we also support enhanced protections for these lands in Congress and applaud Reps. Gallego and Haaland for their leadership.”

The bill has more than 70 original cosponsors and has been endorsed by the National Trust along with the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, The Wilderness Society, Conservation Lands Foundation, Earthjustice, League of Conservation Voters, National Parks Conservation Association, Grand Canyon Trust, and Utah Diné Bikéyah.

Join us in encouraging your representative to co-sponsor this legislation to protect this remarkable landscape.