Management Plan for Bears Ears National Monument Finalized

Conservation Lands Foundation
|January 14, 2025
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Precedent-Setting Management Plan for Bears Ears National Monument Finalized 
Prioritizes cultural preservation, environmental protection, and sustainable recreation

SAN JUAN COUNTY, UTAH – A historic achievement in Indigenous-informed conservation and collaborative management of nature was marked today with the finalization of the Bears Ears Resource Management Plan–a roadmap that outlines the goals, policies, and objectives for managing natural resources on publicly-owned land.

“The significance of this Resource Management Plan can’t be overstated,” said Jocelyn Torres, Chief Conservation Officer for the Conservation Lands Foundation. “The Plan sets a powerful precedent for Tribal leadership and is the result of unprecedented collaboration between the five Tribes of the Bears Ears Commission–Navajo, Hopi, Ute Mountain Tribe, Ute Tribe and Zuni, federal agencies, and community partners to create a framework of shared stewardship. 

“It culminates decades of effort to protect Bears Ears’ sacred places, cultural heritage, and ecological systems for future generations, which accelerated when President Obama established it as a National Monument in 2016–and then stalled when President Trump reduced the size of the monument by 85 percent and attempted to open the lands for development. Tribal Nations, CLF, and many other partners successfully fought against that reduction and secured President Biden’s reinstatement of the original boundaries in 2021.

“Utah voters overwhelmingly support their national monuments and a strong role for Native American Tribes in helping to manage their ancestral lands. We wholeheartedly support the Tribes’ preferred version of the Bears Ears management plan, which ensures the protection of sacred places, cultural heritage, and ecological systems. 

“As a partner in the creation of the Bears Ears National Monument, we will continue to vigorously defend its protection and that of other beloved and sacred national monuments that are part of the country’s National Conservation Lands system,  including its first unit–Grand Staircase-Escalante,” said Torres. 

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We’re the only nonprofit leading a national movement of community-based advocates who care for America’s NATIONAL CONSERVATION LANDS of natural, historical, cultural and recreational significance.
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    Conservation Lands Foundation published this page in Latest News 2025-01-14 13:13:39 -0700
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