Utah has some of the most protected lands of any state in the continental US. The most recent addition to this protected area is Bears Ears National Monument. President Barack Obama designated Bears Ears a national monument in 2016 under the Antiquities Act, which grants the president the authority to designate national monuments on federal land. Initially, the monument protected 1,351,849 acres of land. President Trump later reduced the size of the monument by about 85 percent. The border has changed dramatically in the past two years (The US Forest Service).

The reason Bears Ears is such a widely contested land is because it is a large fracking site and is also home to many Native American tribes. Even though the Obama administration legally designated the land as protected, certain native peoples were upset at the designation citing that the government in Washington DC does not know enough about the land and that they are capable of protecting their own land. Others were glad the land was federally protected because large fracking industries could not buy up the land and mine it for fossil fuels (Los Angeles Times).

When President Trump shrank the protected land large areas were claimed in a similar fashion to land claimed under the Homestead Acts. Since uranium and oil corporations have the resources, they claimed a vast majority of the land. Uranium mining and oil fracking pose a threat to the natural landscape of Bears Ears. Fracking and mining make the land almost entirely unusable after the resources are collected.

In a way, the “border” that surrounds Bears Ears has always existed. It surrounds the homes of many Native American groups. The designation of the land changed this border to a literal one. Now that the border truly exists, it is being changed and fought over from many sides. Much of the criticism aimed at the recent reduction of the monument stems from the interpretation of the Antiquities Act. Many critics claim that a president should only have the authority to designate protected land but not make protected lands public again. The borders will probably shift again in the future based on the multiple court cases occurring simultaneously.

A few questions:

How does the designation of the land as protected change the way the land is seen by the government and the people who live there?

Is there some sort of compromise that can include interests of both corporations and native peoples?

Should presidents be able to designate land as protected and reduce the size?

–Skylar

Works Cited

Finnegan, Michael. “In an Unprecedented Action, Trump Dramatically Shrinks Two National Monuments in Utah.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2017, www.latimes.com/nation/la-fg-trump-national-monuments-20171204-story.html.

United States, Forest Service, “Bears Ears National Monument Questions and Answers.” 2016.