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Native Americans and conservation advocates are urging the Biden administration to adopt a management plan for Bears Ears National Monument that emphasizes Tribal management.
The Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition includes leaders of the Navajo Nation, Ute Indian Tribe, Zuni Tribe, Hopi Tribe, and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. The coalition has teamed up with outdoor retailer Patagonia to press for the adoption of Alternative E, the plan that will emphasize resource protection and commit to the use of Indigenous knowledge to steward the 1.35 million-acre monument in southeastern Utah.
“As the first national monument proposed by a coalition of Tribal Nations, the designation of Bears Ears National Monument is unprecedented, and the plan for managing it must be too,” Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert said in a statement.
The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service identified Alternative E as their "preferred option" for a draft management plan that was released in March, although a final selection has yet to be made. The public comment period will close on June 11.
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This is the last gasp of the fossil fuel industry. They read the writing on the wall. They know that their days are limited. And they’re doing everything they can to make sure that they are the last barrel sold.”
