Bears Ears Shrinkage All About Oil, Gas, and Minerals

Cliff dwellings at Bears Ears National Monument. Click for photo credit.

Eric Lipton and Lisa Friedman recently published a bombshell story in the New York Times about the reasons behind the shrinkage of the Bears Ears National Monument. You can read it here. As my readers will recall, Bears Ears was established by President Obama to protect Native American sacred lands. Importantly, he used the Antiquities Act when establishing the site. The Antiquities Act provided federal guidance for the protection of cultural resources. Bears Ears is home to many examples of prehistoric rock art, ancient dwellings, and sacred sites. The President sought the input of many Native American voices as he developed the boundaries if the Monument.

According to the Times, when the current president sought to shrink Bears Ears after his election, he listened to the voices of the oil, gas, and minerals industries. This is in direct contrast to public statements of the administration, particularly Interior Secretary Zinke who said that these industries did not impact the decision to reduce the size of the monument.

I doubt that the conflict over Bears Ears is over, particularly given the evidence of duplicity.