Earth Day and Environmental Policies

 This week’s Wrap-up is reference to environmental policies and decisions affecting the desert Southwest, It is also a brief history of the government action and actors.    In 1906, the Congress of the United States passed The Antiquities Act which authorized the President of the United States to set aside lands intended for:  With that authority, President Bill Clinton, in 1996 designated the Grand Staircase-Escalante area of Utah as a National Monument.  For the First time in history, the Bureau of Land Management assumed administrative control of a National Monument.  In 2016, President Obama designated Bears Ears a National Monument.  Also, for the first time, the proclamation came at the request of Native tribes in the area. Today, five tribal entities share in its management.

In 2017 though, President Trump reduced protected areas by 85% and 50% of Bears Ears and the Grand Staircase Escalante respectively.  Litigation followed as both decisions garnered lots of criticism.  The decisions of the Trump Administration did not stand,  President Biden restored protection of both monuments. Nevertheless, the legal status of Bears Ears remains in question. The State of Utah has sued the federal government claiming that the Feds have misapplied the language of the law. 

I share this Wrap-up for several reasons.  Saturday is Earth Day and this brief history reflects the conflict between the advocates of environmental protection and private local interests.  I have also tried to include primary documents which if available, should be included in research activities. Links can be followed and as such suggest that research is a meandering process of discovery.

With kind regards,

Jim Fisk MLS MA

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