Sophia Eppolito
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox takes a selfie with Rep. Blake Moore, U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson and Sen. Mitt Romney during a tour by ancient dwellings along the Butler Wash trail at the Bears Ears National Monument Thursday, April 8, 2021, near Blanding, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool) April 08, 2021 - 4:51 PM
SALT LAKE CITY - For decades, a public lands tug-of-war has played out over a vast expanse of southern Utah where red rocks reveal petroglyphs and cliff dwellings and distinctive twin buttes bulge from a grassy valley.
A string of U.S. officials has heard from those who advocate for broadening national monuments to protect the area s many archaeological and cultural sites, considered sacred to surrounding tribes, and those who fiercely oppose what they see as federal overreach.
Deseret News
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The Bears Ears of the Bears Ears National Monument are pictured from the air on Monday, May 8, 2017. Navajo Nation leaders called for full restoration and expansion of the Bears Ears National Monument to 1.9 million acres in a meeting with U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland on Wednesday in Bluff, Utah.
Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Navajo Nation leaders called for full restoration and expansion of the Bears Ears National Monument to 1.9 million acres in a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland on Wednesday in Bluff, San Juan County.
The move would reverse former President Donald Trump’s sweeping reduction of the national monument designated under former President Barack Obama.
Haaland Trip Highlights Renewed Focus on Conservation, Climate Change By Rachel Tillman and Associated Press Nationwide PUBLISHED 3:49 PM ET Apr. 08, 2021 PUBLISHED 3:49 PM EDT Apr. 08, 2021
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Interior secretary Deb Haaland has hit the ground running since her confirmation in mid-March, focusing on wide-ranging issues from improving infrastructure in tribal territories to moving towards a green economy.
What You Need To Know
Interior secretary Deb Haaland traveled to New Mexico and Utah this week, meeting with tribal leaders and local lawmakers to discuss a range of issues
On Tuesday, Haaland traveled to her home state to visit the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque
“I spent time on the land, I looked at pictographs, vistas that take your breath away,” Haaland said during a press conference Thursday on her trip to the Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah.
“I’m meeting with as many people as possible: tribal leaders, the governor, senators, Congress members, hearing from local folks, county commissioners later on today, local ranchers and the mining industry . the outdoor recreation folks, small business owners, conservation organizations, and, of course, the scientists,” Haaland said.
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On her trip, ahead of a report that she will send to Biden, she’s also expected to visit the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah.