Zinke tours hotly contested Utah monument
Interior secretary says area should be preserved, but questioned how
BLANDING, Utah — U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said sacred tribal lands he toured Monday in America’s newest and most hotly contested monument should be preserved, but questioned whether the monument designation was the right way to do it.
Zinke’s aerial and ground tour of the Bears Ears National Monument was part of a review ordered by President Donald Trump to determine if 27 monuments were properly established.
Zinke spent the day getting familiar with the 1.3-million-acre swath of southern Utah with red rock plateaus, cliffs and canyons on land considered sacred to tribes.
His guide was Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, one of several prominent Republican leaders in the state who oppose Bears Ears National Monument.
Zinke, a Montana Republican, said he wants to make sure Native American culture is preserved, but cautioned that not all tribal members share the same opinion about the monument designated by former President Barack Obama near the end of his term.
He spoke before taking a short hike in the afternoon sun with Herbert and other state and local officials to a lookout post above ancient ruins.
“Of course, the legacy and what I’ve seen should be preserved,” Zinke said, “The issue is whether the monument is the right vehicle.”
Herbert, U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch and the rest of the all-GOP congressional delegation consider the monument creation an unnecessary layer of federal control that will hurt local economies by closing the area to new energy development. They also say it isn’t the best way to protect the land.
In Blanding, with a population of 3,400 people, two large banners read “#RescindBearsEars,” reflecting the popular sentiment among residents.
Bears Ears supporters made their voices heard, too. They believe the monument adds vital protections to tribal lands where members perform ceremonies, collect herbs and wood for medicinal and spiritual purposes, and do healing rituals.
Tara Benally, a member of Navajo Nation, was standing outside the Blanding airport wearing a shirt commemorating the December declaration of Bears Ears National Monument.
“We want it left as is. We have history going through there,” said Benally. “That was basically my mom’s playground as she was growing up.”
A group of Bears Ears supporters greeted Zinke when he arrived at the trailhead. One woman asked why he met with tribal leaders for only an hour.
Zinke turned around to face the woman and said: “Be nice.” The woman responded that she always is.
The monument review is rooted in the belief of Trump and other critics that a law signed by President Theodore Roosevelt allowing presidents to declare monuments has been improperly used to protect wide expanses of lands instead of places with particular historical or archaeological value.