Democrats urge President Trump not to shrink Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin and 13 Democratic colleagues urged President Donald Trump not to change the boundaries of the Bears Ears or Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, saying whittling down the size of the designations could harm the resources and cultural sites they were meant to protect. “National monuments have preserved our country’s unique public lands, extraordinary history, and our common culture as a people,” the senators wrote in a letter Monday. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert suggested in a letter to Zinke that Bears Ears be shrunk to one-tenth of its current 1.35 million acre size, scaling the southeastern Utah monument down to about 120,000 acres surrounding Mule and Arch canyons west of Blanding, according to maps and other documents prepared by the governor’s office and obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune through records requests. Monday’s letter was co-signed by Sens. Tom Udall of New Mexico, Patty Murray of Washington, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Al Franken of Minnesota, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Jeff Merkley or Oregon, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Bernie Sanders of Vermont...more