Bears Ears national monument: Herbert To Sign Resolution Against Bears Ears

Governor Gary Herbert told reporters today at his monthly news conference that he plans to sign the resolution against creating a Bears Ears National Monument. He also indicated he will continue working with the Obama Administration on the issue. The monument resolution is nonbinding and designed to express the will of the Legislature and the governor on the proposed Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah. Herbert said Thursday that he prefers the approach in the Public Lands Initiative proposed by Rep. Rob Bishop that would designate 1.2 million acres as a national conservation area, which would impose fewer protections for the land. It would also create designations for more than 16 million acres of federal land across the state. “There really is a desire to find a resolution to this public lands conflict, and the Bears Ears is just one part of it,” Herbert said Thursday during his monthly KUED news conference. “The Bears Ears butte, I think, our native brothers and sisters would agree there needs to be some conservation, some protection there. The question is really what is the best vehicle to do that? And there is division on that even amongst the Indians.”...more