American Rivers Opposes Rollback of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments
Contact: Hawk Hammer, National Communications and Media Director, Hhammer@americanrivers.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. — American Rivers is disappointed by the Administration’s rollback of protections from Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in southern Utah, reducing their size by almost 90%. These national monuments safeguard fragile desert river ecosystems that flow through public lands, protect sacred tribal lands, and support a thriving local recreation economy.
Together, these landscapes protect significant portions of the San Juan, Colorado, and Escalante rivers systems, safeguarding cultural and ecological values, and ensuring clean water for people and wildlife downstream. Across the country, the 31 national monuments designated in the last 30 years directly protect 21,143 miles of river across 2,125 watersheds, collectively influencing the surface water supply of 13,392,600 water users.
This includes Tribal Nations, who have an outsized stake in both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, and oppose this action by the administration.
“Bears Ears was the first national monument designated at the request of a historic coalition of Tribal Nations—The Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Zuni Tribe, and Ute Indian Tribe of Uintah and Ouray Reservation,” said Michael Fiebig, Director of River protection for the Southwest U.S. “Likewise, the Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal Coalition includes the Hopi Tribe, Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Navajo Nation, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and Zuni Tribe, who are invested in the defense and protection of their ancestral lands within the monument. Protecting public lands and waters, and honoring Tribal sovereignty, can and should go hand in hand.”
“Decades of planning, including significant public input, have gone into protecting the incredible landscapes and rivers in these monuments, and it is a sad day when we undermine such progress,” said Kelsey Cruickshank, director of Government Relations for American Rivers. “Safeguards like national monument designations are part of the foundation of protections for our nation’s clean water unraveling them is poor policy.”
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About American Rivers
American Rivers is a national conservation organization working to make every river clean and healthy for people and wildlife. We combine evidence-based solutions with enduring partnerships to safeguard the 3.5 million miles of rivers and streams that are essential to our nation’s clean drinking water, extraordinary wildlife, and the strength of our communities. For more than 50 years, our staff, supporters, and partners have been driven by a common belief: Life Depends on Rivers®. AmericanRivers.org