In an interim report to President Trump, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says the 1.35-million-acre Bears Ears National Monument in Utah should be scaled down, without suggesting the appropriate size. “There is no doubt that it is drop-dead gorgeous country and that it merits some degree of protection, but designating a monument . . . where multiple-use management is hindered or prohibited is not the best use of the land or in accordance with the intention of the Antiquities Act,” Zinke said in a statement.
“I’ve submitted my 45-day interim report to President Trump expressing my belief that the monument needs to be right-sized, and that it is absolutely critical that an appropriate part be co-managed by the Tribal nations. I also recommend that Congress take action to protect some areas,” said the statement.
The Interior Department extended the public comment period on Bears Ears to July 10, the same deadline for comments on an overall review, ordered by Trump, of two dozen large national monuments created during the past two decades. The 1906 Antiquities Act has been used by presidents over the past century to create more than 100 national monuments on federal land to protect, in the words of the law, “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest.”
Bears Ears “contain some objects that are appropriate for protection under the act. This includes rock art, dwellings, ceremonial sites, granaries, and other cultural resources that reflect its long historical and cultural significance to Native Americans,” says the interim report. Rather than covering a broad area, “it would have been more appropriate to identify and separate the areas that have significant objects to be protected to meet the purposes of the act, including that the area reserved be limited to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects.”
Zinke recommended that Trump revise the boundaries of Bears Ears “through use of appropriate authority.” Whether or not a president can abolish a national monument is still an open question.
Critics often claim that national monuments quash local economic development, although they can create alternative sources of revenue, including from tourists and recreational visitors. When Trump ordered the review of national monuments, he described them as “this massive federal land grab,” although the government already owned the law. President Obama created the Bears Ears monument last December.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert called Monday’s report “an important first step toward re-establishing sound land management practices” for the Bears Ears region, said the Salt Lake Tribune. Jennifer Rokala of the Center for Western Priorities had a different take, saying, “This is an undeniable attack on our national monuments and America’s public lands.” Some groups have vowed to take the matter to court if the president shrinks the monument, said the Salt Lake City newspaper.
To read Zinke’s interim report, click here.