Environmentalists, tribes blast Utah national monument plan
Source: Associated Press
Brady Mccombs, Associated Press
Updated 6:07 pm CDT, Friday, July 26, 2019
Photo: Francisco Kjolseth, AP
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FILE - This May 8, 2017, file photo, shows Arch Canyon within Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. The Bears Ears National Monument covers 315 square miles (816 square kilometers) of southeastern Utah lands considered sacred to Native Americans that are home to ancient cliff dwellings and other artifacts. President Barack Obama created the monument in 2016, and President Donald Trump downsized it a year later. (Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, File)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The U.S. government has decided to allow off-road vehicles access to archaeologically sensitive land at a Utah national monument that houses sacred tribal sites under a plan announced Friday.
The Bureau of Land Management's plan for the Bears Ears National Monument says that certain historic sites most at risk will be off limits, but the agency chose an alternative that closes about 42 square miles (108 sq. kilometers) to off-road vehicles. That's far less than a different option that would have closed nearly 184 square miles (476 sq. kilometers).
The plan was met by immediate criticism from environmental and tribal organizations, who say it will leave sensitive lands and sites vulnerable to damage.
"It's like seeing that your grandmother's house has been robbed," said Carleton Bowekaty co-chair of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, in a statement. "These lands are sacred to us and they are being destroyed — sometimes inadvertently — by people who don't understand our culture and way of life."
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/us/article/US-government-issues-final-management-plan-for-14183715.php
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