** Biden beefs up proclamations to better protect Bears Ears and Grand Staircase
------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday October 12, 2021
Cows graze near the Hole-in-the-Rock trail in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. K ([link removed]) en Lund, Flickr ([link removed])

President Biden didn't have to issue new monument proclamations to restore Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, but he did.

Public lands reporter Jonathan Thompson took the time to read the lengthy new proclamations to determine how they differ from Obama's, and he has some insights into what the documents may mean for the future of both monuments.

To start, the new proclamations go into great detail describing many areas inside the monuments. "This isn’t about loquacious authors and lax editors, however," Thompson writes ([link removed]) . Instead, it's most likely a strategic legal move to make it harder to downsize the monuments in the future. That tracks with reporting ([link removed]) our new communications associate, Kate Groetzinger, did as a reporter for KUER last spring.

Thompson notes that both proclamations call for new management plans, which will likely be a good thing for the monuments' protection, as a committee stacked with monument opponents has been working on the Bears Ears management plan for the past two years ([link removed]) and the Grand Staircase plan has long been s ([link removed]) een as problematic ([link removed]) by land managers and conservationists.

And, perhaps most significantly, Thompson writes that Biden’s language around cows "cracks the door to a grazing phaseout." It says any allotments voluntarily relinquished by ranchers will be retired from grazing, and it bans range treatments for grazing purposes unless the Interior Secretary "specifically" finds that treatments further the goals laid out in the proclamations.

While each of these changes on their own may not sound huge, the combination of the three will likely go a long way toward protecting these fragile and important landscapes.
Quick hits


** Fossil fuel companies issue bogus awards to CEOs for "environmental success"
------------------------------------------------------------

Washington Post ([link removed])


** Environmental groups sue feds over stray cows in Arizona
------------------------------------------------------------

Arizona Daily Star ([link removed])


** Editorial: Utah leaders need to work to protect monuments, not diminish them
------------------------------------------------------------

S ([link removed]) alt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** Inside the costly battle against California's Dixie Fire
------------------------------------------------------------

New York Times ([link removed])


** Lawmakers push bill banning sale of single-use plastics in national parks
------------------------------------------------------------

E&E News ([link removed])


** Opinion: Can Indigenous leadership save our national parks and monuments?
------------------------------------------------------------

Sierra ([link removed])


** Ute Mountain Ute community holds annual march against Uranium mill
------------------------------------------------------------

The Journal ([link removed])


** What's next for national monuments? Fending off a lawsuit and establishing management plans
------------------------------------------------------------

Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed]) (opinion) | Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
Quote of the day
I hope to accomplish a way forward for my children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren to be able to breathe, to eat and to drink, and to leave a legacy that says at this crucial moment in time, the Indigenous people, including their grandma, great-grandma and mama, was there to raise a voice of reason.”
— Casey Camp-Horinek, a tribal elder from the Ponca Nation, Washington Post ([link removed])
Picture this


** @ ([link removed]) Interior ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
The Grand Staircase-Escalante landscape is a geologic treasure. With its bold plateaus, multihued cliffs, and narrow slot canyons, it has a rich human history spanning from Indigenous peoples and cultures to early pioneers.

============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Medium ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
Copyright © 2021 Center for Western Priorities, All rights reserved.
You've signed up to receive Look West updates.

Center for Western Priorities
1999 Broadway
Suite 520
Denver, CO 80202
USA
** View this on the web ([link removed])

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])