Around 200 attend Bears Ears open house

by Bill Boyle
San Juan Record Editor
Approximately 200 people participated in an open house in Blanding on April 23 regarding the draft management plan for Bears Ears National Monument. 
Public comment will be accepted on the draft plan through June 11. 
In attendance at the open house were a wide variety of area residents, including retirees, farmers, ranchers, recreationists, elected officials, candidates for public office, and more.
The tone was generally positive and respectful, despite the clear emotion and frustration over the issue that is felt by many of the participants.
A lack of trust between the various entities was clear as all sides try to understand the complexities of a 1,200-page document that outlines five separate alternatives for management of the massive national monument.
The federal land management agencies state that the preferred plan, Alternative E, “emphasizes traditional indigenous knowledge with consideration of natural processes and seasonal cycles.”
The plan currently under consideration was developed with significant input and oversight by the Bears Ears Commission.  The Commission includes five members of five tribal nations, including the Navajo, Ute, Hopi, Ute mountain Ute and Zuni tribes.
Several members of the Bears Ears Commission were in attendance at the open house, including Navajo Nation Council Delegate Curtis Yanito, Ute Mountain Councilman Malcolm Lehi, and Pueblo of Zuni Councilman Anthony Sanchez.
These representatives were eager to discuss the management plan and outline the work they have developed. 
Navajo Nation Council Delegate Curtis Yanito praised the beauty of the monument, declaring, “It smells like a ranch up there. It doesn’t smell like a monument.”
Yanito added that it is a special place, full of fresh air and wonderful things. Yanito stated that the monument is “like a medicine bundle for my people.  They can have a connection to the mountain wherever they are.”
Likewise, Sanchez said the monument will strengthen cultural ties for the Zuni youth. “We are focused on bringing our youth here to learn about their culture,” said Sanchez.
This is the second draft management plan to be released by the federal land agencies. After the monument boundaries were changed by President Joe Biden in 2021, an earlier plan was superseded, and a new planning effort took its place.  The prior draft management plan received 250,000 public comments.
In addition to general concern about the complexity of the massive document, much of the concern shared by local residents is the possible closure to motorized traffic to Arch Canyon. 
The popular route has been threatened with closure over the years.  Both Alternatives D and E could result in the possible closure of Arch Canyon.
A federal agency contractor at the event discussed the issues facing the fact that the monument is co-managed by the federal agencies and the representatives of the tribes.
The contractor, a trained archaeologist, acknowledged the challenges faced by a changing definition of cultural resources, adding, “Throughout my career, when we have discussed cultural resources, it was generally a discussion of the number of archaeological sites in an area.”
Working with the Bears Ears Commission under the new co-management model, the definition of “cultural resources” is much broader.  In addition to the vestiges of an ancient civilization, there is the living, breathing culture of the current residents of the area.
Several concerns were expressed about the other residents of the area, evidenced by a resident who complained, “Local non-Natives are not represented by anyone.”
The focus on input by the Bears Ears Commission has resulted in several local and state officials who say that the longstanding cooperating agency status between various government entities is threatened by the new model.
The State of Utah recently stepped away from an effort to transfer trust land properties in the monument for federal lands elsewhere in part because of the proposed management plan.
The Utah officials stated, “The federal government has signaled that it once again plans to adopt a restrictive land management plan that will harm recreational access, grazing, and other traditional public uses of these lands.”