These mountains are stone, just like the stone monuments in Washington DC and state capitols all over the country. Sometimes the only way to protect them from being carved into commercial enterprises is to declare them a “national monument” under the Antiquities Act.

In Southern Utah, there’s a 1.9 million acre area that encompasses wide-open vistas, steep slopes, and deep caves and more than 100,000 archaeological sites. This is Bears Ears – named for the shape of two buttes in the area – and it is the ancestral home of at least thirteen Native American tribes. The area offers hiking, biking, camping and other opportunities, and it is open to all members of the public. 

Unfortunately, this deeply historical area is virtually unprotected. Over the past generation some burial grounds have been disturbed and some hogans, sweat lodges, and corrals have been burned. One ranger reports that artifacts are disappearing very rapidly, as visitors take away “souvenirs” of their hikes. Archeologists report evidence of vandalized petroglyphs and cliff dwellings. Two federal rangers are the only employees stationed in this vast area to inform visitors that it is illegal to take artifacts from the site, and to keep them from vandalizing petroglyphs, caves, or other archeological sites. 

In 2015, after many years of effort to protect these sites, an intertribal coalition – comprised of leaders from Hopi, Navajo, Uintah and Ouray Ute, Ute Mountain, and Zuni – formed around a specific proposal. The coalition is asking the president to designate and protect Bears Ears as a national monument, to be co-managed by the five tribes. 

Although there’s strong support among tribal members and local residents for the proposal, there’s not complete unity. Some tribal members worry that placing the land under federal protection will restrict their access to traditional ceremonial sites, limit their ability to gather wood or traditional medicinal herbs, and prevent hunting. Some worry that a designation as a national monument will bring more tourists, change the feel of the land and open it to more desecration. Supporters believe that the proposal would protect these rights, and the sacred sites as well.

Hope for a Decision

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell visited Bears Ears and the surrounding lands for four days this month, becoming familiar with the topography and the archeological and spiritual richness of the area. She spoke to – and heard from – both supporters and opponents. Jewell commented that she saw the consensus behind the discord. All of the speakers want the same outcome – protection of Bears Ears for coming generations. By the time Jewell left the area, she said that the President would make a decision about designating a Bears Ears national monument by the end of this year.

A Long Road

Although the Intertribal Coalition launched the formal proposal just last year, their effort to protect Bears Ears is certainly not new.  They’ve been working tirelessly on their proposal for many years, even before the coalition was formed.  In 1968 Bobby Kennedy visited the nearby town of Bluff to speak with Navajo leaders during his presidential campaign. One man in the intertribal coalition recalls a Navajo elder telling Kennedy then that Bears Ears needed to be protected.  Proponents have taken their ideas and requests to the state and to county officials, without success.  

Since 2011, the inter-tribal coalition (and its predecessors) has held eight Town Hall Meetings, interviewed and surveyed thousands of people, gathered more than 15,000 statements of support, held five annual gatherings of Tribes at Bears Ears to discuss land protection, and obtained resolutions of support from 26 tribes.  The coalition believes that a collaborative management arrangement including the tribes and the federal government will yield a rich combination of the “wisdom of traditional stewardship” with the best of federal land management.

Under the national monument proposal, Bears Ears would remain open to the public, but the National Park Service would be able to offer more staff and resources to protect the area. Recreational uses of all kinds – even including All Terrain Vehicles – would continue. The roads that go through the area would remain open, but no new roads would be built. Holders of mining permits would be able to continue to mine, but no new permits would be issued. Traditional uses by native peoples would be given the highest priority, but no one would be excluded, unless a person was violating the laws protecting the place. 

Legislative remedies have also been attempted. Utah’s former Senator Bennet had worked on a proposal for a time, and Utah’s current Representatives Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz have been talking about a “public lands initiative” over the last few years, which would offer a compromise among business, recreational and cultural interests. This legislation was introduced just before Congress left for recess last week – it is unlikely that there will be time for it to pass in the 114th Congress. The intertribal coalition sees the congressional proposal as offering too little protection from commercial development.

Political Potholes

Meanwhile back in Washington D.C., some members of Congress have expressed opposition to the designation of “any more” national monuments, expressing a belief that President Obama holds some kind of record for designating acres of land as monuments. 

Actually, the current President has declared a total of 4 million acres as national monuments, compared to President Jimmy Carter who designated 56 million acres, and President Bill Clinton who designated 5.75 million acres. Presidents have also declared marine areas as national monuments, and there, President Obama may hold a record, just edging out President George W. Bush’s previously held record. President Obama’s marine declarations cover 261 million acres, compared to President Bush’s 219 million acres.