An impactful win years in the making!? ? ? ? Friend ? we have thrilling news! On Friday, the Biden-Harris administration honored their commitment to restore protections for three sacred and majestic national monuments: Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts. ?
Bears Ears National Monument, designated in 2016, made history as the first national monument proposed by a coalition of sovereign tribal nations: the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition. After taking office, Trump ignored these communities and revoked safeguards protecting the sacred sites and ancestral lands of the five tribal nations of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition.

The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument protects a unique and pristine ecosystem home to rare and endangered wildlife and one that is also a crucial buffer for climate resiliency in our ocean.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is an outdoor recreation paradise and is home to 1,400 paleontological sites and dozens of active research projects that were put at risk in order to reward Trump's political allies.
President Trump unlawfully opened up these lands and reduced protection for Bears Ears by nearly 85% ? ignoring sovereign Tribal nations, scientists, business and community leaders, and the millions of people who supported safeguarding these national treasures ? for the benefit of big polluters and extractive industries, and we've been fighting tirelessly to restore the protections ever since.

Thanks to the work of Indigenous communities, local leaders, and thousands of environmentalists and LCV supporters like you submitting comments to the administration and demanding action, the hard work has finally paid off! The Biden-Harris administration is reinstating full protection to these lands, effective immediately.

This is a critical first step toward the administration's goal of conserving 30% of our lands and waters by 2030 to combat the climate crisis and protect our public lands. President Biden's moves restore health and economic protections to the communities that live and work near these lands and waters and provide economic certainty to other communities that rely on national monuments to power their outdoor recreation and tourism businesses.

At LCV, we stand in solidarity with the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition and other local Tribes and Indigenous communities to celebrate this important step toward fulfilling their vision for safeguarding their sacred sites and ancestral lands. As we mark Indigenous Peoples' Day today, we pledge to continue to follow the leadership of Tribes to achieve their vision for the lands and waters they have stewarded for generations.

President Biden's action is the type of whole-of-government approach required to achieve racial justice, respect for Tribes, and address the climate crisis, while rebuilding a more equitable economy and creating good-paying jobs.

Thank you!

Alex Taurel
Conservation Program Director
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