On Jan. 20, Utahâs congressional delegation issued a statement opposing the Biden Administrationâs intent to immediately restore the boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, which were reduced by former President Donald Trump.
In its statement, Utahâs congressional delegation argues that âroughly two-thirds of our backyard belongs to the federal government, which has meant land management actions have often been done to us rather than with us.â
âWe share a sincere desire to find a collaborative, broadly supported solution to the political football of national monuments in Utah, specifically Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments,â the statement reads.
This is the Jan. 28, 2021, edition of Boiling Point, a weekly newsletter about climate change and the environment in California and the American West. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.
The day before President Joe Biden took office, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce one of the country’s most influential business groups, and a longtime opponent of aggressive climate policies made a seemingly major announcement: It would support a market-based approach to slashing emissions. American climate policy, the Chamber said, “should recognize the urgent need for action.”
But three days later as the Biden administration prepared to pause new oil and gas leases on public lands and waters the group released a statement reading, in part, “There is never a good time to disrupt domestic energy production.”