A monumental plan that upholds Indigenous-informed conservation

Today marks a milestone moment in the history of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah: federal agencies finalized the monument's resource management plan (RMP), which sets a new standard in balanced, sustainable land management and marks a significant cornerstone in federal respect for Tribal authority.

"The approval of the Bears Ears RMP is a historic achievement and a prime example of how collaboration among Tribal Nations, federal agencies, and stakeholders can bring about a sustainable vision for the future," said Scott Miller, Southwest senior regional director of The Wilderness Society. "We applaud the years of work that went into crafting this plan, which will honor and carry this deeply revered landscape into the future."

The new plan solidifies the protection of Bears Ears' unique living landscape, home to an estimated 100,000 archaeological and ancestral sites, including remarkably well-preserved cultural resources like ancient dwellings and petroglyphs. A crucial component of the RMP is the incorporation of Traditional Indigenous Knowledge, a resource to understand and help manage the landscape, as provided for in the proclamation establishing the monument. As climate change raises new challenges in managing public lands, it will be vital to draw on solutions that include thousands of years of intergenerational Indigenous experience and knowledge.

The Bears Ears Commission (BEC), comprised of one elected official from the Hopi, Navajo (Diné), Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute and Pueblo of Zuni Tribes-all Tribal Nations with close ancestral ties to the Bears Ears landscape-played a central role in developing the RMP. Now, the monument will be managed collaboratively by the BEC, Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service.

On January 6, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, due west of Bears Ears, finalized its updated RMP. The Bureau of Land Management published its long-term vision for protecting the land's diverse ecology, cultural sites, and natural wonders, such as slot canyons that have been carved by water over thousands of years.

Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, whose boundaries were reduced by President Trump in 2017, then restored under President Biden, are puzzle pieces connecting significant Southwest habitats within what the White House calls the Moab to Mojave Conservation Corridor. These federally protected landscapes share canyonlands, waterways, cultural footprints and help protect the critical watershed of the imperiled Colorado River. These cherished national monuments serve as testaments to Tribal and community-led conservation.

The Wilderness Society stands ready to defend Americans' public lands in Utah and the collaborative management plans that govern them.

For more information contact Gaby Diaz, communications manager, at [email protected].