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On December 6, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, along with our partner groups Patagonia Works, Utah Diné Bikéyah, Friends of Cedar Mesa, Archaeology Southwest, Conservation Lands Foundation, Access Fund, and the Society for Vertebrate Paleontology, filed a lawsuit to block President Trump’s attempt to revoke protections for approximately 85 percent of the Bears Ears National Monument in southeast Utah.

Stephanie K. Meeks, President and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation said:

“Bears Ears National Monument tells the story of human civilization in North America thousands of years before the arrival of the first Europeans, and our nation cannot afford to have this sacred place opened to looting, vandalism or destructive oil and gas development. Shrinking the boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument is a direct assault on the Antiquities Act, one of America’s bedrock conservation and preservation laws that has helped to ensure the protection of many irreplaceable cultural landscapes across the United States. This unprecedented action does not represent the will of the American people, and is, in fact, destructive to all we hold dear as a nation. We look forward to defending Bears Ears, the Antiquities Act, and America’s unparalleled system of public lands.”

The full press release may be read here.

Today, President Trump announced an 85 percent reduction in the land area of Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah. This is a monumental mistake. Join us in urging your lawmakers in Washington to show their support for the preservation of this priceless cultural landscape.

In the words of Utah Navajo elder, Mark Maryboy, “Bears Ears is one of the last undisturbed areas our people have.” It is “full of historic, archeological, and paleontological sites, and biological and ecological species that need protection. For those reasons, it’s very important that we protect the earth, the plants, and special ceremonial places in Bears Ears for future generations—not just for Native Americans, but for everybody.”

Congressman Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) recently introduced legislation that would expand the boundaries of the Bears Ears National Monument to match the original 1.9 million acre national monument proposal from the five tribes that proposed the Bears Ears National Monument designation to the Obama administration. Gallego’s bill would also ensure that management decisions affecting the monument would reflect tribal expertise and traditional and historical knowledge.

Let’s show Washington that we care about the future of one of our nation’s most important cultural landscapes.

Take Action Now.

Today, Rep. Ruben Gallego (AZ-07) introduced a bill to protect the Bears Ears National Monument from an unprecedented attempt by the Trump administration to downsize and redraw the monument’s boundaries.

The bill has been endorsed by the 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 the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

“The tens of thousands of artifacts and irreplaceable historic resources at Bears Ears make it one of the nation’s most significant cultural landscapes,” said Tom Cassidy, Vice President for Government Relations and Policy for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “The National Trust applauds Congressman Gallego’s leadership on legislation to protect the existing Bears Ears monument and adjacent areas of national significance.”

Learn more about the bill on Rep. Gallego's website.

Tell your lawmakers to support the Bears Ears National Monument Expansion Act and protect this special place.

Today, National Trust CEO and president Stephanie K. Meeks issued a statement in response to Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s recently disclosed National Monument recommendations. Read the full statement here.

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.