Ping-pong protection: Is anything on the horizon that will truly safeguard Bears Ears?

Haven’t we been down this road before?

In 2015, San Juan County Public Lands Council and Bears Ears Inter-tribal Coalition proposed protections for the Bears Ears region of southeast Utah. Then, just before leaving office in 2016, President Obama created Bears Ears National Monument. The next year, President Trump shrunk it. Now, President Biden’s Interior Department will “review” the whole mess.

“Frankly, Utah had a chance with the Public Lands Initiative to do something that was more collaborative (to prevent the Bears Ears designation) and they failed. So the fact that we as a state couldn’t make it happen doesn’t prevent the president (Biden) from using the authority that has been delegated to (the president’s) office for more than 100 years.” (John Ruple, University of Utah law professor)

Sounds to me like a good ole fashion Bronx Cheer pointed in the general direction of representative democracy. One and done?

Nobody disputes President Biden’s authority under the Antiquities Act. Seems to me the question is whether its use would help bridge the cultural and political divide that has stymied preservation efforts. It’s a question, seems to me, that’s already been answered: It won’t.

As conservative radio opinionator Paul Harvey used to say, “Here’s the rest of the story.” In this case, it’s at least a part of the story that’s mostly gone unreported.