SUBMITTED FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: A BEARS EARS MANAGEMENT PLAN | Background and analysis by Bill Keshlear
Roughly two and a half years after President Biden resurrected and even expanded President Obama's original Bears Ears National Monument, the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service unveiled on Friday (March 8) their joint Draft Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Stateme nt, Volume 1 , a blueprint that would guide the agencies' land-use decisions for the next 20 or so years. Volume 2 lists citations, a glossary and appendices. Bears Ears buttes on Cedar Mesa dominate the horizon of southeastern Utah and northeastern Arizona. They are visible from much of the northern part of the Navajo Nation, a spiritual beacon for Indigenous peoples for hundreds of years. Creation of Bears Ears National Monument was intended to protect archaeological, paleontological and geological objects. (BLM photos) ( This was updated April 22, 2024, to include additional information and clarifications of earlier versions. ) The draft plan is an important benchmark ; Presi