2024 has been a pivotal year, not only for Bears Ears Partnership (BEP), as an organization, but for the management of the Bears Ears landscape and the ever-growing movement towards Tribal co-management. With the recent release of the precedent-setting Bears Ears National Monument Management Plan, BEP - alongside our Tribal, agency, and community partners - is supporting co-management as a model for protecting and stewarding ancestral landscapes. A generous donor has offered a $150,000 MATCHING GIFT CHALLENGE to inspire giving during this exciting time of growth: make your donation by December 31st, and your impact will be doubled!
Making a gift today not only shows your support for Bears Ears, but helps ensure we have the resources, team, and capacity to meet our ambitious goals and be effective on-the-ground stewards, educators, and advocates for this sacred landscape.
Today, on Giving Tuesday, we are given countless opportunities to show our generosity to the communities and causes we care most about - our inboxes and social media feeds are full, and it can be difficult to decide which of the many worthy causes is most important to you.
Maybe Bears Ears Partnership has already made the list of organizations you’d like to give to (if so, you can donate here). If you’re considering supporting our work, read on to learn how your contribution will be used and just how much impact your donation could have - thanks to the generosity of a donor who will match your gift 1:1, until December 31st!
For BEP, a major step is our recent acquisition of the Canyon Country Youth Corps (CCYC). Since 2000, CCYC has provided young adults the opportunity to complete stewardship projects on public lands in the Four Corners region - ranging from building and maintaining trails, fence construction and maintenance, to invasive species removal and habitat restoration, and more - in partnership with land management agencies. CCYC primarily hires Indigenous youth from the Four Corners region, many of whom go on to be crew leaders and full-time staff at CCYC, and gain an important pathway to other employment opportunities and education.
CCYC crews will help implement co-management on-the-ground in Bears Ears, by connecting Indigenous youth to ancestral landscapes, facilitating the progression of those youth into leadership positions in land management agencies and other organizations, and stewarding the land in a manner that aligns with the Tribes’ vision.
BEP relies on the support of partners like you to ensure we have the resources, team, and capacity to meet our ambitious goals and be effective on-the-ground stewards, educators, and advocates for Bears Ears. In addition to acquiring CCYC, here is a snapshot of some of the major accomplishments your support made possible in 2024:
- Acquiring and operating the Canyon Country Youth Corps (CCYC), a one-of-a-kind program, providing young adults from the Four Corners region the opportunity to complete projects on public lands and serving as an important pathway to other employment opportunities and education.
- Supporting Tribal leadership in the management of the greater Bears Ears region through our public comments on the draft Monument Management Plan, and leading the effort to protect over 40,000 acres from development in The Lands Between, one of the most culturally important landscapes in the country, located just outside of the Monument.
- Bringing nearly 400 San Juan County youth onto the Bears Ears landscape through our field trip and Bears Ears Summer Camp, giving regional youth the opportunity to connect with an ancestral landscape, build cross-generational relationships, and gain hands-on learning experiences relevant to their school course work.
- In partnership with Tribes, completing our multi-year, cultural site conservation, interpretation, recreation accessibility, and education project at the Upper Sand Island Petroglyph Panel aimed at balancing the protection of the sacred and fragile resources with the improvement of infrastructure to enhance the visitor experience - making this the only ADA-accessible site in the Monument - while providing forums for education about Visit With Respect principles.
- Accomplishing the first spring restoration projects, as part of our 10-year vision of watershed restoration and climate resiliency in the Bears Ears region, alongside our Tribal, agency, and other nonprofit partners who make up the Bears Ears Conservation Partnership.
It is now more important than ever that we continue to build upon this model of partnership that sits at the core of everything we do; our collective impact is infinitely greater when we bring together diverse voices and perspectives to enact our shared goals. As we rally to protect Bears Ears National Monument, our on-the-ground work will continue, and we will proceed with our vision to support Tribal leadership to protect the region for generations to come. Take advantage of this amazing $150,000 matching gift challenge, and make a year-end donation by December 31st to help us carry this momentum forward into the new year.
YOU are an integral partner in making these successes possible and we hope you will join us with your support to carry this momentum into the new year.
Photo by Steve Allen