bears ears national monument

The Interior Department defended reductions to Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante after a survey found most Utah voters favor restoring protections.

Two-thirds of voters in Utah believe protections should be restored to the entire acreages of two national monuments that were recently downsized. That’s according to a statistically valid survey conducted by the research firm New Bridge Strategy and funded by Grand Canyon Trust.

The Bureau of Land Management says few immediate changes will be visible as the agency begins developing a replacement management plan.

Conservation groups, Indigenous tribes, and the outdoor retail company Patagonia have filed lawsuits over recent drastic cuts in the size of two national monuments in Utah.

More than 330 organizations and businesses have sent a letter to the Trump administration protesting the drastic reductions in two Utah national monuments.

President Trump is expected to reduce Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. Conservation groups are preparing legal challenges, while Dolores County has reduced some Ferris Fire evacuation levels.

KSJD’s Andie Ravensbergen talks with Sarah Burak, Education Director at the Bears Ears Partnership, about Bluff, Utah’s recent designation as an International Dark Sky Community and the town’s first-ever Dark Sky Festival on November 14th and 15th. Burak — a self-proclaimed “Dark Sky Enthusiast” — shares her passion for astronomy, community collaboration, and preserving the beauty of the region’s star-filled skies.

This week, we explore the cultural significance of Bears Ears, a safe parking program for workers, and the impact of federal immigration laws on local communities.

The Washington Post is reporting that officials with the Interior Department are considering shrinking at least six national monuments in the West. According to the Post, the monuments that may see their acreage reduced dramatically include Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in southern Utah.

Hovenweep National Monument on the Utah-Colorado border is one of ten monuments in the Southwest that are at risk of losing federal protections.