We learned recently that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has recommended reducing the size of the monument, but has also extended the public comment period on Bears Ears until July 10 to match the comment period for other national monuments.

This means our fight to advocate for our nation’s precious natural and cultural landscapes is not over.

Please join us in telling Secretary Zinke that Bears Ears and other public lands belong to ALL of us. They should be left unaltered and unharmed!

Executive Order 13792 specifically instructs the Department of Interior to review sites designated since 1996 that are more than 100,000 acres in size, or where Secretary Zinke determines the designation was made without adequate public outreach or support. The list of sites ranges from Canyons of the Ancients in Colorado to Arizona's Sonoran Desert.

These national monuments represent places of national significance and tremendous economic value to their local economies. Questioning the intent and integrity of efforts to protect these places is an affront to the American people and future generations.

Let’s keep the drumbeat going. Join us in telling Secretary Zinke that these places, so treasured by our communities, deserve full protection as national monuments.