SAVE THE MONUMENTS

Trump announced (1,2,3) that he will make massive cuts to two national monuments - Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments in Utah, but many are fighting back. (1,2,3,4,5)

WHAT DO THE CUTS MEAN!?

“The Bears Ears National Monument will go from roughly 1.3 million acres to roughly 228,000 — only about 15 percent of its original size. And Grand Staircase will be diminished by roughly half, from its nearly 1.9 million acres to about 1 million. The specific numbers were provided to reporters by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke prior to Trump’s announcement in Salt Lake City.” - NPR, Dec 4, 2017

Okay, so?

Native Sovereignty

“It is a place essential to the physical, spiritual and cultural identity of the Hopi, Zuni, Ute and Navajo Nations. Before the advent of European settlers in the West, these peoples were here. They lived and flourished in the curvilinear canyons of red and orange labyrinthine rock in what is now Utah. People made their homes and offered their prayers around the green areas of the high elevations near the twin buttes that lend the area its name…

The monument designation sends a clear message that damaging, disturbing and looting our heritage is unacceptable, unethical and illegal to those nonnative residents who have always believed it to be allowable. The thousands of ancient cultural sites in Bears Ears represent an anchor for tribes to understand and share with today’s generation who they are, and helps show us the way to a more hopeful future…

But Bears Ears, as a national monument, is also about respect. The designation is a long-overdue acknowledgment the need for tribal input on policies affecting this land, and of the fact that previous treaties should have ensured the right of indigenous communities to govern and maintain that which is theirs. It is not right to go back on these promises now.” - Baca, Dec 8, 2017

“More than 100,000 Native American archaeological and cultural sites, some dating to 12,000 B.C., are protected in Bears Ears. Tribes continue to visit these lands to hold ceremonies and to connect with their ancestors. “What is sacred cannot be reversed,” said James Adaki, President of the Navajo’s Oljato Chapter and a member of the Bears Ears Commission. (See photos and videos of Bears Ears.).” - EarthJustice, June 16th, 2017

Environmental



“The work to establish Grand Staircase-Escalante in the late 1990's sparked lawsuits and proposals to curb presidential authority under the Antiquities Act. Monument opponents failed then, but the controversy continued—in part because of industries’ wish to exploit fossil fuels that lie beneath the monument. Without its protected status, Grand Staircase-Escalante would be vulnerable to coal mining and oil and gas development, according to an analysis from the Center for American Progress.” - EarthJustice, June 16, 2017

“This opens the door to a lot of potential harm on these lands – more oil and gas development? More mining, grazing and logging? More fences, shutting off hiking, climbing, fishing and hunting access? It’s all up for grabs.” - Eberie, Dec 27, 2017

Scientific Research and Education

“Both monuments are known for exceptional sites holding the remains of ancient human settlements, unique ecosystems, and troves of fossils.” - Underwood, Dec 6, 2017

“There were multiple reasons for making them monuments, but in both cases paleontology was one. When Grand Staircase-Escalante was set aside, there were very few areas anywhere in the world where we had a mammal fossil record right at the late Cretaceous period, when different mammal groups were diverging. Those fossils really filled a gap in mammal paleontology and put Grand Staircase on the map from a paleontological point of view. We now have the most extraordinary Late Cretaceous ecosystem documented anywhere. After the monument was established, a lot of the dinosaur material was discovered.” - Polly, Dec 6, 2017

“Many conservation biologists, archaeologists, and paleontologists oppose the moves, saying it could open the way to damage of sensitive sites by mining, grazing, and recreational activities.” - Underwood, Dec 6, 2017

Political

“The executive order threatens not only some of our nation’s youngest monuments, but also the public lands law that safeguards all national monuments, present and future: the Antiquities Act of 1906. Undermining monument designations and protections would establish a dangerous precedent…



The 120 years since the Arizona newspaper editorialized against saving the Grand Canyon have proven that protecting our public lands from extractive industries is a battle worth fighting.” - EarthJustice, June 16, 2017

Though many are fighting, you can be a planeteer too.

WAIT WUT - HOW DO I HELP!?

#SIGNALBOOST