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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.

Led by Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) and Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ), 26 Senators and 92 Members of Congress filed a brief as Amici Curiae on November 19 in support of consolidated lawsuits that challenge the legality of President Trump’s executive action to reduce existing national monument designations at Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in southern Utah. Barbara Pahl, senior vice president of field services for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, released a statement regarding the news:

“We commend Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) and Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) for their leadership in standing up for the original boundaries of the Bears Ears National Monument and for organizing a strong show of Congressional support for maintaining the integrity of the Antiquities Act. The reduction of the Bears Ears boundaries as proposed by the Trump Administration would do grave damage to an extraordinary cultural landscape and would violate the intention of a powerful preservation tool that enables presidents to establish national monuments—not diminish them.”

The full statement may be viewed here.

The public has an opportunity to review the management plan for Bears Ears—a place of extraordinary cultural significance in southeast Utah. Join us in making a strong statement of support for protecting its archaeological wonders from an insufficient plan and a flawed process!

As you may recall, an executive order by President Trump removed nearly 85 percent of the land from the Bears Ears National Monument—an action we are currently challenging in court. Now, the Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service have released draft management plans for the monument that fall short in major ways. The proposed plans only consider the management needs of the much smaller monument and are not sufficiently protective, leaving the land vulnerable to threats like mining, oil and gas extraction, looting, and vandalism.

The deadline for the public comment period is fast approaching. Please act today to send the message that irreplaceable public lands like the Bears Ears National Monument deserve to be fully protected.

Comments must be submitted on or before November 15, 2018.