Critics Call Trump Bears Ears Plan ‘Salt In An Open Wound.’

"The plan to manage what’s left of the reduced monument ‘is like seeing that your grandmother’s house has been robbed,’ said one Native American tribal representative"

"Nearly two years after dramatically shrinking the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, the Trump administration finalized a management plan Friday that would allow trees to be plowed down using heavy chains, as well as utility lines and more ranching, in the smaller area that is still preserved.

The new plan for the nearly 202,000-acre expanse of public land, which removes five Native American tribes from the management board of a monument they fought to designate, drew immediate protest from conservation and tribal groups.

But officials from the Interior Department and U.S. Forest Service who jointly manage the monument said in a statement that it balanced the region’s economic interests against the need to safeguard it."

Darryl Fears and Juliet Eilperin report for the Washington Post July 27, 2019.

SEE ALSO:

"Bears Ears Plan a Monumental Failure, Environmentalists Say" (Bloomberg Environment)

"Trump Administration Plan For Bears Ears Slammed As 'Recklessly' Weakening Protections" (Reuters)

"Environmentalists, Tribes Blast Utah National Monument Plan" (AP)

Source: Washington Post, 07/29/2019