Biden to restore protections to three national monuments

President Biden Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monuments are expected to restore protections on Friday, the Biden administration said Thursday. The protections of the three monuments had been reduced under the Trump administration.

The president’s protection of these three national monuments is part of a series of measures taken by the administration to restore protection to some of America’s most cherished lands and waters, many of which are sacred to tribal nations. “the White House said in a memo announcing the decision.

The statement cited the conservation of national monuments as a key element in improving climate change, public health, the economy and the preservation of wildlife.

At Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, the boundaries will be restored to where they were at the end of the Obama administration in 2016. It will also retain protections for the 11,200 acres former President Trump added to the park. in 2017.

“Restoring the boundaries and conditions of the monument restores its integrity, supports efforts to honor the federal trust’s responsibility to tribal nations, and preserves these lands and waters for future generations,” the statement said. “With this action, the total protected area of ​​the Bears Ears National Monument is 1.36 million acres.”

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, also in Utah, will now have 1.87 million acres of protected land, the same amount as on January 20, 2017. The land contains several “world-class geological objects of interest historical or scientific ”. according to the White House statement, and it’s home to dinosaur fossils, Native American and pioneer artifacts, campsites, trails, and various soils and wildlife.

In 2017, Mr. Trump sign two presidential proclamations that reduced the size of Bears Ears by 85% and Grand Staircase-Escalante by 50%. The Home Office said at the time that the move would designate “the smallest area compatible with the care and management of important objects of historical or scientific interest.”

In New England, the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument will once again be fully protected, as established by the Obama administration in 2016. As a result, commercial fishing will not be permitted and American crab and lobster fishing will be phased out by 2023.

“The monument is made up of two units, the Canyons unit and the Seamounts unit, each with unique geological features that anchor vulnerable ecological communities threatened by varied uses, climate change and related impacts,” the release said. the White House.

In 2020, Mr. Trump authorized for land use planning at the national monument.

Blair Guild and Bo Erickson contributed reporting.