Thursday April 8, 2021
Masks will still be required clothing in Grand County even as a statewide mask mandate ends this Saturday. The state is allowing local health departments and counties to set their own rules when it comes to masking, meaning Grand’s will stay in effect until June 15th. Plus, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is in Southeastern Utah this week to visit both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments. Her visit comes amid pressure to reverse the Trump administration’s decision to shrink the boundaries of both monuments. And, our radio partners report on a new law enforcement unit to put renewed focus on resolving the cases of Native Americans who are missing or have been killed, forecasts for the Colorado River, and the rise of anti-Asian racism in our region.
POOL AP
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. The group toured ancient dwellings along the Butler Wash trail at Bears Ears National Monument near Blanding on Thursday.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland met with tribal leaders as well as Utah state leaders Wednesday in San Juan County to talk about Bears Ears National Monument. They toured the monument together Thursday morning.
Haaland is visiting southern Utah this week as part of an Interior Department review of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. Former-president Donald Trump shrunk both monuments in 2017 at the behest of Utah politicians.
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