The Interior Department is defending President Trump's reductions to Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments after a new survey found that most Utah voters want protections restored across the former monument areas.
In an email response to KSJD, an Interior Department spokesperson said the administration is ending what is considers abuse of the Antiquities Act and restoring access to public lands.
"Under President Trump's leadership, Interior is righting the wrongs of past administrations by ending the abuse of the Antiquities Act, restoring access, protecting our heritage, and putting Utahns and all Americans first," the spokesperson said.
The statement went on to describe the reductions as "right-sizing" the monuments. It said the smaller boundaries would protect historic landmarks while "restoring" economic and recreational opportunities.
The spokesperson did not directly address the survey findings. Interior also did not answer KSJD's questions about whether it would consider the restoration of the Bears Ears Commission or how the five Tribal nations associated with Bears Ears would be involved in future management decisions.
President Trump moved to reduce the boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante by about 90% in July. The presidential action also terminated the Bears Ears Commission, which brought representatives of five Tribal nations into the monument's management process.
Lands removed from Bears Ears became available for new mining claims last week.
The Grand Canyon Trust, which advocates for restoring the monuments, commissioned the survey from the firm New Bridge Strategy. 500 registered Utah voters were surveyed by telephone and online from August 10 to August 17.
The survey's margin of error was 4.38 percentage points on average, and was larger for political, demographic and regional subgroups.
Two-thirds of respondents favored restoring protections across all lands previously included within the two monuments. One-third preferred greater protections within a smaller area.
Support for restoring protections included 52% of Republicans, 77% of independents and 95% of Democrats.
The survey also found that over 80% of respondents considered it important for Native American tribes to have a strong role in managing public lands containing sacred or culturally significant sites. Sixty-nine percent called the termination of the Bears Ears Commission a bad decision, while 19% thought it a good decision.
Davina Smith-Idjesa, co-chair of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, said the survey's findings should send a message to federal officials and Utah's congressional delegation.
"Listen to Utah voters, restore strong protections for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase, and make sure Tribal nations have a meaningful role in decisions affecting these lands," Smith-Idjesa said during a press conference announcing the results.
