Biden to Restore Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante | Joe biden

Joe Biden will expand two sprawling national monuments in Utah that were significantly reduced under Donald Trump, the state governor said Thursday.

The move marks a victory for conservationists and Indigenous leaders who fought for years to restore protections to the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments.

Bears Ears and the Grand Staircase-Escalante cover vast expanses of southern Utah, where red rocks reveal petroglyphs and rock dwellings, and distinctive twin mounds spring from a grassy valley. The Trump administration had cut Bears Ears, on land considered sacred to Indigenous people, by 85% and nearly halved Grand Staircase-Escalante.

Arizona Representative Raul Grijalva, Democrat and Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, praised Biden in a statement, saying the decision to restore monument protections shows his administration’s commitment. to “conserve our public lands and respect the voices of indigenous peoples”. .

“It’s time to put Trump’s cynical actions in the rearview mirror,” he said.

However, the Republican Gov. of Utah, Spencer Cox, has expressed disappointment with the administration’s decision regarding the monuments, which have been at the center of a long-standing tussle over public lands between administrations. presidential. The governor noted that he had offered to work with the administration on a legislative solution.

“The president’s decision to expand monuments again is a tragically missed opportunity – it does not provide the certainty or funding for the law enforcement, research and other protections that monuments need and that alone action from Congress can deliver, ”Cox said in the statement released with other heads of state.

Cox’s statement did not include details of how many monuments will be restored, and the White House and the US Department of the Interior declined to comment immediately. An official announcement from Joe Biden is expected soon.

Utah Senator Mitt Romney also slammed Biden, saying in a tweet that he had “wasted the opportunity to build consensus” and find a permanent solution for the monuments.

“Again, Utah’s national monuments are used as political football between administrations,” Romney said Thursday.

Jennifer Rokala, executive director of the Center for Western Priorities, a conservation group, applauded Biden’s decision and said she hopes it marks a step towards her goal of conserving at least 30% of states’ land and oceans. United by 2030.

“Thank you, President Biden,” Rokala said in a statement. “You have listened to the Native tribes and the American people and made sure that these landscapes will be protected for generations to come. “

Home Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Indigenous Cabinet Secretary, traveled to Utah in April to visit the monuments, recommending they return to their original size.

Barack Obama proclaimed Bears Ears a national monument in 2016. The site was the first to receive the designation at the specific request of Indigenous nations.

The Bears Ears Buttes, which overlook a grassy valley, are considered a place of worship for many tribes, according to Pat Gonzales-Rogers, executive director of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition. The group includes the Hopi Tribe, the Navajo Nation, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Pueblo of Zuni, and the Ute Indian Tribe.

Trump’s cuts to Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante were among his administration’s most controversial environmental decisions and paved the way for possible coal mines and oil and gas drilling on land that was previously off-limits. However, the development has been limited due to market forces.