Conservation group pilots land back project near Bears Ears 

California-based conservation group Wildlands Conservancy has purchased a 320-acre piece of private property on the edge of Bears Ears National Monument, near Bluff, Utah, with the intention of returning it to its original stewards.

Wildlands is inviting the five Tribes of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition to co-manage the land. But there's one caveat: no development can occur on the land, which is rich with ancestral sites like cliff dwellings and petroglyphs. Wildlands' Dave Herrero told the Los Angeles Times that some of the Tribes were initially skeptical of the deal but eventually agreed upon a mutual goal of preserving the land as it is. 

“Our main goal is to continue protecting our cultural significant ties to this area—that’s our biggest concern,” said Anthony Sanchez, the Zuni representative on the coalition. “We’re not there to make money. We’re not there to do anything but protect it.”

Herrero said part of the property will likely be reserved for Tribal members to conduct ceremonies, while the rest of the property will be open to the public to enjoy. He also said Wildlands and the Tribes plan to do ecological restoration work on the property, like removing invasive species. 

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Quote of the day

The law says that all living things have a right to be in this world... The law came from a more generous time when the United States had the power and the confidence to say that we will preserve all of our living legacy.”

—Ecologist and writer Carl Safina on the Endangered Species Act, Newsweek

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