With National Monuments Under Review, Bears Ears Is Focus Of Fierce Debate
Bears Ears in Utah is on land considered sacred to Native Americans. But some local residents say the 1.35-million-acre national monument is being pushed by extreme out-of-state environmentalists.
A lot of the anger over federal public land in rural Utah today can be traced back to a windy, gray day in Arizona in September 1996. At the Grand Canyon, President Bill Clinton formally designated the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, more than 100 miles away.
"On this remarkable site, God's handiwork is everywhere in the natural beauty of the Escalante Canyons," he said.
Clinton didn't set foot in Utah. The planning for the monument was largely done in secret and state leaders had little warning
