Courtney Bourgoin, courtney.bourgoin@sierraclub.org
Salt Lake City, UT-- Today, the Trump administration’s Interior Department released final resource management plans for the reduced Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. In 2017, President Trump illegally announced intentions to eliminate 2 million acres of public lands from the national monuments. The action is still being challenged in court.
In response to the plan, Carly Ferro, Interim Director of the Sierra Club’s Utah Chapter, released the following statements:
“The motivation all along has been to exploit public lands to benefit the dirty fuel industry, regardless of the cultural, natural and economic costs. That’s not a price Utahns are willing to pay.
“The bottom line is that the Trump administration acted illegally when it stripped lands of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante of national monument status. This process remains egregious and this plan confirms Bernhardt’s Interior is clearly trying to let in mining and drilling before a court can overturn the rollbacks.
“We’ll continue to support Tribal partners and fight for the protection of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante -- and all of the culture, resources and history these places hold.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.