Utah: Bears Ears

Bears Ears is a giant expanse of red rock, juniper forests and high plateaus that is sacred to many Native American tribes. The monument contains archaeological and cultural sites that are thousands of years old.

The site was designated by President Obama in December 2016 – sparking outrage amongst Utah’s congressional delegation at the time.

Trump cited the influence of Utah senator Orrin Hatch as the main driver behind the executive order – handing him the pen the order was signed with during the ceremony.

Speaking at the Department of the Interior, Trump said:

“I also want to recognize Senator Orrin Hatch, who – believe me, he’s tough. He would call me and call me and say, you got to do this… He doesn’t give up. And he’s shocked that I’m doing it, but I’m doing it because it’s the right thing to do. But I really have to point you out, you didn’t stop.”

According to the Unearthed analysis, 90% of Bears Ears sits above potential oil and gas plays.

Months before the designation the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining approved drilling applications by EOG Resources – one of the largest independent oil companies in the US – on land that is now within the monument boundaries.

EOG has retained its rights to explore and drill in Bears Ears because the designation only restricts new leasing.

The Western Energy Alliance – a trade association representing oil and gas interests in the region – has confirmed that industry is interested in gaining access to the monument.

Kathleen Sgamma, the group’s president, told E&E News last month that: “There certainly is industry appetite for development there, or else companies wouldn’t have leases in the area”.

Responding to the review, the Inter-Tribal Coalition – which led the campaign for the area to be designated as a national monument – said: “For the first time in history, five sovereign Nations came together to advocate for Bears Ears National Monument in order to protect this sacred cultural landscape that carries deep meaning for our people.”

“This so-called ‘review’ creates a process to attack the designation of Bears Ears National Monument, and all public lands that are cherished by the American people.”

Grand Staircase’s giant coal seam

Trump’s decision to review national monuments designated since 1996, wasn’t taken at random.

The first monument on his list is the Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah – which was created by President Clinton in January 1996.

Senator Hatch has been fighting the monument ever since and personally lobbied Trump and Zinke to scrap it.

Speaking on the Senate floor last month, Hatch said: “To this day, the Grand Staircase proclamation remains among the most flagrant abuses of presidential power I have ever seen.”

He added: “Bears Ears was Grand Staircase all over again”.

Unearthed found that 42% of the land covered by the national monument harbours reserves of coal.

And while there is no chance this would be mined any time soon, in February Hatch told Utah’s state legislature that President Trump has assured him: “He would be able legally to create the access to this great treasure that may save Utah and the country someday”.

The economic case for rescinding the monument has been questioned by some local businesses.

The Escalante Chamber of Commerce wrote to secretary Zinke in February arguing that the monument had resulted in millions of dollars of investment in the local economy.

National monuments mapped

California: Carrizo Plain

A few hundred miles west of Grand Staircase and Bears Ears are two national monuments in California which could also be threatened by energy development.

Carrizo Plain – a remote area of California grassland famous for it’s spectacular springtime wildflowers – was made a national monument by President Clinton in January 2001.

According to Unearthed’s analysis, just over a quarter of the 247,000 acre monument sits above basins that the Energy Information Administration suggests could be prospective for fossil fuels.

Clinton’s designation allowed for existing oil and gas activity to continue at the site but put a stop to any new licenses being issued.

The Bureau of Land Management’s 2010 resource management plan for the monument estimated that there were 45 oil wells within its boundary, including 15 producing wells.

The document suggests that recent technological advances “may result in more activity in the future”.

There is also significant oil exploration surrounding the monument. The largest oil field in California lies just a few miles to the east.

According to the BLM, Carrizo is surrounded by “six giant and upper-giant oil fields (fields with over 100 million and 1 billion barrels of reserves, respectively)”.

Jeff Kuyper, executive director of the conservationist group Los Padres ForestWatch, told Unearthed:

“The Carrizo Plain National Monument is one of the crown jewels of the national monument system. The review of its monument status is a thinly-veiled attempt to open the area up to oil drilling and fracking. It would spell disaster for the area’s rare wildlife and untouched landscapes.”

California: San Gabriel Mountains

San Gabriel Mountains – just outside Los Angeles – was designated as a national monument by President Obama in 2014, after years of campaigning by local groups.

Unearthed’s analysis shows that the vast majority of the monument sits above a sedimentary basin that is potentially prospective for fossil fuels.

And although it is unlikely there would be exploration any time soon – there is evidence to suggest that there could be in future.

A 2005 resource management plan for Angeles National Forest – around half of which became the San Gabriel Mountains national monument – states that: “Portions of the national forest have been identified as having a high potential for oil and gas reserves; however, no requests for exploration have been received for exploration in the last ten years”.

And there has been oil drilling in the area surrounding the monument in the past.

Democratic Congresswoman Judy Chu, who represents the district containing the monument, told Unearthed that President Trump’s review: “threatens to take lands that have been set aside for public use and hand them over to corporations for mining and drilling.”

“When President Obama declared the San Gabriel Mountains a national monument, it immediately opened the door to new funding that has increased access to these beautiful mountains, streams, and forests, and improved staffing and safety on the trails”, she said.