Bears Ears is complex
Sam Rutigliano’s letter on Bears Ears monument misses the mark. He understands it only as a political issue and argues that the area was too big. He also says that Utah citizens favored the reduction, which is false.
Bears Ears is more complex than Sam is willing to understand.
When established in 2016, Bears Ears offered a new layer of protection to what was already federal public land. It originally consisted of some of the most scenic places in southeast Utah and included important cultural treasures. The lands are considered sacred by Native Americans due to an abundance of ancestral archaeological and rock art sites.
What is at stake with Bears Ears is almost identical to that in the illegal reduction of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSE). The reversals open Utah’s wild and scenic redrock canyons to coal and uranium mining and oil and gas extraction. GSE was established in 1996 in no small part due to its paleontological resources. Its reduction is a disaster for the local economy and paleontological study.
Trump’s decision to reduce both monuments was done in collusion with the extraction industries. Since it is federal land, as a nation we have to ask, “what areas are worth protecting from degradation due to their intrinsic scenic, cultural, scientific and recreational value?”
Sam Rutigliano’s letter about the op-ed from Senator Udall and Congressman Grijalva accuses them of being disingenuous in their liberal spin, and saying Trump was aligned with wishes of Utahns when he acted to reduce Bears Ears and Escalante-Grand Staircase National Monuments.
Give me a break.
It is Rutigliano being disingenuous: Native American tribes in the region asked Obama to designate the monument, as did other members of the public. Yes, the Utah delegation said, “No one in Utah wants it,” failing to represent members of those tribes (who lived in Utah).
Regarding other members of the public, I admit public polling has shown fluctuating support, but Colorado College’s Conservation of the West January 2018 poll found 49 percent of Utahns opposed reducing the size of Bears Ears, while 46 percent supported Trump’s action to reduce it. So, Trump could just as easily be accused of overreach.
A recent letter regarding the Bears Ears National Monument (not national park) reduction left out several important points.
One, these are public lands that belong to all the people of the U.S., not just to Utah residents. Utahns alone don’t get to dictate management of these national treasures.
Two, though results are mixed, several polls indicate a majority of Utah residents supported the creation of the monument and support keeping it intact.
Three, five Native American tribes — Zuni, Hopi, Navajo, Ute Mountain Ute and the Ute Tribe of Uintah and Ouray, collaborated to support designation of the Monument and asked President Obama to do so.
Bears Ears is a uniquely beautiful and valuable area containing over 100,000 archeological sites and is well worth preserving in its original entirety. President Trump had no authority to reduce it. Hopefully the courts will restore the Obama administration’s boundaries. Send letters of 250 words or fewer to openforum@denverpost.com or 5990 Washington St., Denver, CO, 80216. Please include full name, city and phone number. Contact information is for our purposes only; we will not share it with anyone else. You can reach us by telephone at 303-954-1201.