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On May 26, a coalition of organizations including the National Trust announced that more than 685,000 comments were collected in support of Bears Ears National Monument. The comments were submitted to regulations.gov as part of the April 26^th Executive Order reviewing certain monument designations under the Antiquities Act. (Note that batch uploads may not reflect the full number of comments, due to the how the federal government tracks comments on regulations.gov.)

National Trust for Historic Preservation President and CEO, Stephanie Meeks submitted separate comments to Secretary Zinke from the National Trust for Historic Preservation regarding the review of national monuments, specifically Bears Ears National Monument.

Written comments relating to the Bears Ears National Monument were due May 26. Secretary Zinke will present a recommendation to President Trump by June 10. Comments regarding the remainder of the National Monuments under review will be accepted on regulations.gov until July 10, 2017, 11:59 PM ET.

As part of the Trump Administration’s review of national monuments created since 1996, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is seeking public input on the Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah. Join us in speaking up for the 12,000 years of history written throughout this sacred landscape.

Bears Ears is home to an unparalleled collection of tens of thousands of cultural and archeological sites, from hunting camps, cliff dwellings, and prehistoric villages, to petroglyphs and pictographs from Native Americans dating back to the Ice Age. This cultural landscape holds the history and prehistory of our nation in a way books and classrooms cannot.

While Bears Ears may not have the name recognition of Arches, Zion, or Canyonlands National Parks, its resources are arguably just as amazing. Imagine if the government acted to remove protections from those beloved parks, leaving them vulnerable to fossil fuel extraction, looting, or overuse.

We have only a small window of time to influence the Administration’s thinking on Bears Ears. Please submit your comment by May 26 and help us send a strong message to the Department of the Interior: We must protect Bears Ears. To help you add your voice to the cause, we’ve created a sample message that you can customize with your own words.

On April 26 President Donald Trump signed the Executive Order on the Review of Designations Under the Antiquities Act. The order directs the Department of the Interior to review all national monuments designated since January 1, 1996, to determine whether they meet the requirements and objectives of the Antiquities Act and whether they “appropriately balance the protection of landmarks, structures, and objects against the appropriate use of Federal lands and the effects on surrounding lands and communities.” This leaves wide latitude for removing protections for historic and cultural landscapes.

Beginning on May 11, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is accepting public comments on each monument. Written comments relating to the Bears Ears National Monument must be submitted before May 26, 2017.

The Bears Ears National Monument was just dedicated in December 2016, but could be threatened under the new administration. In Preservation magazine's Spring 2017 issue, managing editor Meghan Drueding explains the current situation. Read the full article here.

In response to passionate pleas from Native American tribes, conservation and preservation groups, elected officials, and advocates like you, President Obama has just designated 1.35 million acres of southeast Utah as Bears Ears National Monument. This designation, enabled by the Antiquities Act, provides permanent protection to one of the most significant cultural landscapes in the country.

Please join us in thanking President Obama for preserving this priceless landscape!

Bears Ears, a National Treasure, is home to more than 100,000 cultural and archeological sites associated with Pueblo, Navajo, Hopi, and Ute tribes, yet is suffering from looting, mismanaged recreational use, and development threats.

This designation gives greater priority to the protection of historic and natural resources within the national monument, ensuring this extraordinary piece of our shared heritage can be enjoyed by current and future generations.