Trimming monument in Utah pleases GOP, angers tribes
In this June 22, 2016 file photo, the ‘House on Fire’ ruins in Mule Canyon in Bears Ears National Monument near Blanding, Utah. (Inset): In this June 19, 2007 file photo, tourists view rock formations formed over thousands
of years in Boyden Cavern in Kings Canyon at Giants Sequoia National Monument, California. (AP) Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s recommendation to downsize the new Bears Ears National Monument in Utah was applauded by the state’s top Republican leaders but marked a stinging setback for a coalition of Western tribes that pushed for protection of lands they consider sacred.
Zinke, a former Republican congressman from Montana, said Monday he’s committed to make sure Native American culture is preserved and vowed to push for Congress to approve legislation granting tribes legal authority to “co-manage” some of the Bears Ears site. He said he discussed the idea with the tribes and that they came away happy with the plan.
“I have enormous respect for tribes,” Zinke said. “This is working hand-to-hand with the tribes as I said I would do.”
Several tribal leaders balked at that characterization, saying they weren’t briefed on the plan and consider the idea to be an attempt to temper their criticism. They joined environmental groups in vowing to file lawsuits if President Donald Trump accepts the recommendation and shrinks the monument. “This was really just a cynical effort to distract Indian country from the devastating blow of reducing the size of the monument,” Natalie Landreth, an attorney at the Native American Rights Fund. “Bears Ears is not for sale. It’s not up for trade.”
Ethel Branch, Navajo Nation attorney general, said the lands within Bears Ears are essentially holy lands that hold critical plants, minerals and powers that members of many tribes rely on to heal and strengthen themselves. “Protection of these lands are non-negotiable,” Branch said. Zinke made the recommendation as part of an interim report to Trump on the scenic swath of southern Utah with red rock plateaus, cliffs and canyons. (AP)