Today, after denying protests by numerous conservation groups, including Friends of Cedar Mesa, the Trump administration made official the final Bears Ears Management Plan it released last year. This plan provides management direction for the 200,000-acre area recognized by the administration as a National Monument after President Trump attempted to cut 1.1 million acres from Bears Ears back in 2017.
Despite the fact that virtually no one disagrees these 200,000 acres are deserving of Monument status, the plan does not give the reduced area the protection this internationally significant area deserves and the kind of special care given to National Monuments around the United States. The plan lacks a strategy for resources to deal with the largest threat to the Monument, the dramatic increase in visitation we’ve seen over the last decade. In some instances, the plan removes protections or positive management prescriptions the land had before it was a monument.
FCM’s analysis of the official plan released today reveals that it is actually worse than the plan we protested last year. One truly positive element that was previously proposed, a provision to have hikers pack out their excrement from the Comb Ridge and other highly visited areas, was removed. This disappointing change means the significant problem of human waste will continue to be a public health issue. It also shows enormous disrespect for cultural sites and the Indigenous people who consider them to be sacred.
In short, this plan attempts to make Bears Ears a second-class monument – one managed to perpetuate the status quo, rather than to preserve a sacred cultural landscape.
While FCM is disappointed by the plan finalized today, we remain committed to taking positive, proactive steps to preserve Bears Ears. We’ll use every tool available to us to educate the public on how to visit respectfully and follow best practices, even if the government doesn’t require them. We’ll engage in the process of encouraging agencies to protect this area, undaunted by past dismissals of our expertise and on-the-ground knowledge – confident in the belief that we are on the right side of history.
One day protection of this landscape will be a shining star of respect for Indigenous culture, preservation of American history, collaboration and practical solutions. That day is not today. But it will come.