Dear Guardian,

Late last year President Obama designated Bears Ears National Monument in southeast Utah to protect a spectacular landscape that is sacred to many tribes and home to more than 100,000 Native American archeological and cultural sites.

Now President Trump is threatening to dismantle and destroy the new Bears Ears National Monument.

Join us in fighting for Bears Ears National Monument.

Trump’s executive order directs Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to review all designations of national monuments since January 1, 1996. The order singled out Bears Ears by requiring Secretary Zinke to recommend whether to revoke its designation within 45 days.

But the fix is in and it’s a foregone conclusion that the Monument will be wiped from the maps or shrunk to a postage stamp size. Trump said as much when he signed the order proclaiming that the designation of Bears Ears “never should have been done.” So expect no honest evaluation.

Let Secretary Zinke know that you oppose this political attack on Bears Ears, our national monuments and our public lands. Trump’s order and his rhetoric advance a dangerous notion—that America’s public lands somehow belong to Utah—when in fact they belong to all Americans.

Tell Secretary Zinke that America must honor its word to the Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Pueblo of Zuni, and Ute Indian Tribe. In designating Bears Ears National Monument, our nation committed for the first time to acknowledging Native Americans’ rightful role in co-managing the lands they hold sacred. Revoking Bears Ears National Monument would be reneging on our promise to the Bears Ears tribes.

Trump’s order is truly an unprecedented attack on our public lands. We urgently need your voice—please take a moment to demand that Secretary Zinke safeguard Bears Ears for future generations by respecting its existence!

For the wild,

 

Greg Dyson
Wild Places Program Director
WildEarth Guardians
gdyson@wildearthguardians.org

P.S. - We also need to let our representatives in Washington know that we support Bears Ears and oppose any attempt to revoke its status or reduce its size. Please call your Senators and Representative today.

P.P.S. This action will close on June 10, 2017 so please be sure to act soon. 

photo: Monarch Cave Ruin, Bears Ears National Monument—WildEarth Guardians