Threatens to bring chaos to a crown jewel of the nation’s public lands system and upend public lands protection as we know it
President Biden announced today that he is restoring protections for the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. We applaud President Biden and Secretary Haaland for their leadership and persistence for this meaningful result and we hope you take a moment to read below how significant this decision is and what it means for future National Monument designations. As you know, four years ago President Trump cut the size of the Bears Ears National Monument by 85% and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in half. This action removed protections for some of the most culturally important land for the Hopi, Diné, Ute, Ute Mountain Ute, and Zuni peoples, world-renowned hotbeds of paleontological research, and world-class destinations for outdoor recreation and natural beauty. Bears Ears is the first tribally-requested national monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante the first monument placed into the National Landscape Conservation System to be managed by the Bureau of Land Management and not the U.S. Park Service. Conservation Lands Foundation responded quickly and joined with sovereign tribal nations connected to the land and local and national organizations in a lawsuit against the Administration’s actions. On the ground, our Friends Groups could only stand by and monitor–while withstanding the devastating impacts of the pandemic–the degradation of sacred sites and former Indigenous settlements from mining, grazing, looting and other activities that occurred on the unprotected lands. Woody Lee, Executive Director of Utah Diné Bikéyah said they celebrate the restoration while also acknowledging “the challenging times our native communities are having right now which makes this achievement bittersweet but a welcome and hopeful change for the future. We appreciate all the support and hard work of many people, organizations, leaders, and supporters who have helped advance our mission of healing the land and the people." Sarah Bauman, Executive Director of Grand Staircase Escalante Partners, recognizes it will be important to work “with Tribal leaders, conservation partners, the Bureau of Land Management, local and state officials, and others to safeguard irreplaceable natural and cultural resources, conduct essential research related to biodiversity and climate change, and protect Grand Staircase in perpetuity.” With protections restored we can breathe a sigh of relief but we can’t relent. Now is the window to protect the places we need if we’re going to have any impact of consequence on the climate and nature crises. We recognize the leadership and vision of Tribal governments and Indigenous non-profit organizations to restore justice.The fight for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante showed us that millions of Americans will stand up for protecting the places we need for the cultural continuity for sovereign tribal nations, their rich ecological and wildlife values, and their ability to improve public health and local economies. Whether through Presidential use of the Antiquities Act, Congressional legislation or regulatory action, with your continued support the Conservation Lands Foundation and our Friends Grassroots Network will achieve this future within the timeline that matters. When the right thing is done, we all win and it feels good to stand beside all of you conservation champions!
ESCALANTE, Utah (August 23, 2019) – Today, local and national groups, businesses and globally-respected scientist organizations, denounced the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) release of management plans for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument as another step toward undermining protections for Americans’ national monuments and other protected public lands. Top failures of the management plan released today: The plan opens up hundreds of thousands of acres of the original Monument (designated in 1996) to drilling and mining, while the administration’s illegal reduction of the Monument (decreasing it by nearly half) is still being actively litigated and while the Government Accountability Office is investigating whether the planning process itself is in violation of long-standing spending law. It is the result of a rushed and closed-door process, opening up land for inappropriate development with little input from the public. The plan changes standards for the management of all national monuments—affecting treasured places across the country—and doesn’t even protect what remains of Grand Staircase-Escalante. This reckless plan doesn’t protect Grand Staircase-Escalante or the businesses that depend on it, and sets an unacceptable precedent for national monuments across the country. Our irreplaceable public lands are the envy of the world, and the law requires that they be managed on behalf of all Americans. Quotes from businesses and local, national and scientific organizations: Nicole Croft, Executive Director, Grand Staircase-Escalante Partners “The BLM’s management plan attempts to cement the largest roll-back in public lands protections in American history. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has demonstrated its worth time and time again, through contributions to science, personal discovery and significant economic benefits to our local communities. These lands belong to every American, not just a few special interests.” Joe & Suzanne Catlett, Nemo’s Restaurant Group, LLC “No new Management Plans should be considered or released prior to the outcomes currently pending before the Courts. In our opinion this action is disingenuous, completed recklessly and does not represent the true best interest of this county or the American people. As owner/operators of an Escalante, Utah Main street business, and like other businesses in Garfield County, we have seen an immediate and direct decrease in our sales and revenue compared to years prior. This is a direct result of the BLM attempting to rush management plans on an Executive action that remains heavily litigated, may be reversed, and continues to impact the local economy.” Nathan Waggoner, Escalante Outfitters “Escalante Outfitters and many other businesses in our gateway communities rely on the protection and preservation of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to continue to grow our businesses and support our communities. We are deeply disappointed in the BLM’s new management plan because it turns a blind eye to the concerns of businesses who support a wilderness ethic and it caters to a small band of special interest groups who want to exploit our public lands for short term profits. Given that the litigation to restore the monument to its rightful size is still on-going, the new management plan is a waste of taxpayers money and detrimental to one of America’s last great expanses of wilderness.” Blake Spalding, co-owner, Hell’s Backbone Grill and Farm in Boulder, Utah “In our restaurant we’re talking to guests every day who have travelled from far and wide to enjoy the unspoiled protected public lands of Southern Utah. They desperately want these landscapes preserved, as they were intended to be when they were thoughtfully designated as protected Monuments. The new management plan is a travesty that will devastate the tranquil gateway communities and businesses that were thriving before this incursion.” David Polly, Immediate Past President, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology “If something’s not broke, you shouldn’t try to fix it. Grand Staircase-Escalante has been one of the most productive areas for paleontology in the last quarter century. The Monument has been a spectacular success in providing scientific value to the entire world. These new management plans are unnecessary and have already cost taxpayers more than $1 million, a fortune that could have produced thousands of more finds.” William H. Doelle, President and CEO, Archaeology Southwest “There is no question that Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was legitimately established through the authority granted by the Antiquities Act of 1906. There is no question that this magnificent landscape is also a cultural one, bearing unparalleled evidence of people’s lives over millennia. What this deeply flawed plan reveals, like the recently released Bears Ears plan, is a troubling question—do national monuments even mean anything anymore? We believe they do, and we stand with our partners in pushing for proper and lawful protections for Grand Staircase-Escalante and all our national monuments.” Brian Sybert, Executive Director, Conservation Lands Foundation “Grand Staircase was designated more than twenty years ago, and its boundaries were later ratified by Congressional action. This plan is an attempt to further this administration’s reckless push to open treasured, irreplaceable lands to destructive mining and drilling—despite public outcry and before the courts have a chance to weigh in.” Heidi McIntosh, Managing Attorney of Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountains Office “Grand Staircase was an exceptionally successful national monument until President Trump rode into town and unlawfully shredded it. These protected lands have been a boon for the local economy and a treasure trove of dinosaur discoveries and new scientific insights precisely because they are protected. We’re disgusted, but not surprised, upon seeing Trump’s latest plans. While the Trump Administration is rushing a new scheme through to let mining companies and ranchers harm vast swaths of Grand Staircase for a quick buck, we’re in court working to stop them. These new plans won’t be worth the paper they’re printed on if the court rules that Trump violated the Antiquities Act and the Constitution.” Phil Hanceford, Attorney, The Wilderness Society “The Trump administration continues to steamroll forward with illegal actions to open nearly half the monument to drilling, and mining and other destructive activities. This planning process is another blatant example of the train headed down a barricaded track,” said Phil Hanceford , an attorney with The Wilderness Society . “While the BLM continues to disregard the law, the public, and the harm these plans will cause, we will fight in court to return the monument to its original boundary and ensure the entirety is managed in a way that protects this outstanding resource.” Mary O’Brien, Utah Forests Program Director, Grand Canyon Trust “The proposals to add more roads, more cattle grazing, more fuel extraction, more non-native grass seeding, more OHV use in wilderness study areas – it’s as if the BLM tried to promote every damaging activity they could imagine.” Theresa Pierno, President and CEO for National Parks Conservation Association: “From ancient dinosaur fossils to ascending plateaus and winding canyons developed over millions of years, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is unparalleled. But now, it’s being taken from the public and handed to the highest bidder. Grand Staircase-Escalante serves as a critical connection to three of our country’s national park sites – Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef National Parks and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. It shields rock formations and wildlife from harm and provides visitors with opportunities to experience intense quiet and solitude. Despite the monument’s value to the region and the millions of people who have fought to protect it, the Trump administration is green lighting destructive development, including mining and drilling, that will forever change this landscape and all we stand to learn from and experience here.” Rose Marcario, President and CEO, Patagonia “The executive order eliminating protections for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was illegal and no management plan for these lands should proceed until the resolution of the lawsuits. If this administration’s reckless agenda is not stopped, it will lead to the destruction of a national treasure protected for over two decades that enjoys support from hunters and hikers as well as local businesses and communities. And even more troubling, it sets a dangerous precedent for the future of all public lands and waters. These wild and wonderful landscapes should not be auctioned off to the highest bidder, and we have every confidence the courts will rule in favor of the plaintiffs and the original boundaries of the National Monument will be restored.” Kya Marienfeld, Wildlands Attorney, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance “This illegal plan puts a fine point on the Trump administration’s rapacious vision for America’s public lands. This is a plan of plunder: authorizing rampant chaining of pinyon-juniper forests, unbridled energy development, and a free-for-all of off-road vehicle abuse. Grand Staircase-Escalante is one of the nation’s public land crown jewels; it is the quintessentially wild red rock landscape that people from across the country and around the world think of when they dream of visiting southern Utah. President Trump broke the law and defied Congress with his illegal order reducing the monument, and SUWA and its partners will persist with our fight in court to undo this damage and restore full protections to the entire monument ecosystem.” Lena Moffitt, director of the Sierra Club’s Our Wild America campaign “The bottom line is that the Trump administration acted illegally when it stripped the lands of Grand Staircase-Escalante of national monument status. With this plan, Bernhardt’s Interior is clearly trying to let in mining and drilling before a court can overturn the rollbacks.” Nicole Ghio, Senior Fossil Fuels Program Manager at Friends of the Earth “The new management plan for Grand Staircase Escalante ignores the overwhelming opposition to mining and drilling on this land. Bernhardt’s push to hand the Monument over to fossil fuel interests is possibly illegal and ignores the ongoing court battles. BLM’s plan is a rushed attempt to undercut established environmental protections.” ###
