Trump guts protections for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments

Washington D.C.– In response to the Trump administration attempting to eliminate protections for nearly all of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) and Stewardship Utah released the following statements:

“By gutting protections for the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, Trump has opened the door to sell-off these sacred lands to Big Polluters at the expense of our communities and environment,” said LCV Conservation Program Director America Fitzpatrick. “Despite nationwide, bipartisan support for protecting national monuments, Trump continues to disregard the will of the people, including the 70% of Utah voters who support protections for these lands, in order to benefit his Big Polluter allies. LCV stands with the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase inter-tribal coalitions who have stewarded these lands for millennia and have long fought for their permanent protections. We are committed to the fight to protect our national monuments and public lands for generations to come.”

“History will not remember this kindly,” said Stewardship Utah co-director David Garbett. “Most of our iconic treasures start as national monuments–four out of five national parks in Utah started this way. It is no different with Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante.”

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