SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's congressional delegation and other state government leaders issued a joint statement Friday to thank Interior Secretary Deb Haaland for visiting Utah as part of the ongoing effort to define the boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.
During her visit, Haaland met with Governor Spencer Cox, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, U.S. Senators Mitt Romney and Mike Lee, Utah's four congressmen and other state, local and tribal leaders.
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"During these discussions, we reiterated our desire to find a permanent legislative solution, which we believe is the only path to finally resolving the longstanding dispute over the monuments’ boundaries and management. If the Administration decides to act unilaterally, a legislative solution that provides certainty will be nearly impossible to achieve," the statement says, in part.
Secretary Haaland will make a recommendation to President Biden about whether or not to change the boundaries of the two monuments again, undoing what President Trump did in 2017 when he dramatically shrunk Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante.
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Trump's decision to downsize Bears Ears by 85% and shrink Grand Staircase-Escalante by nearly half earned him applause from Utah's Republican leaders, who considered the monuments an example of federal government overreach.
Read the full statement:
“We appreciate Secretary Haaland’s visit and thank her and her team for taking time to meet with us and with state, local, and tribal leaders as part of the ongoing review of these monuments. During these discussions, we reiterated our desire to find a permanent legislative solution, which we believe is the only path to finally resolving the longstanding dispute over the monuments’ boundaries and management. If the Administration decides to act unilaterally, a legislative solution that provides certainty will be nearly impossible to achieve. And without protections against the Antiquities Act, Utah is left vulnerable to the whim of future presidents. We continue to urge the Administration to work with us to craft a collaborative, consensus plan that reflects the input of the people most directly impacted and ends the political back-and-forth that our communities have been subjected to for more than 25 years.”
