Originally published on April 9, 2021 1:19 pm
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland met with tribal leaders as well as Utah state leaders Wednesday in San Juan County to talk about Bears Ears National Monument. They toured the monument together Thursday morning.
Haaland is visiting southern Utah this week as part of an Interior Department review of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. Former-president Donald Trump shrunk both monuments in 2017 at the behest of Utah politicians.
Haaland is under pressure to enlarge Bears Ears from Native American tribes as well as environmental groups. President Joe Biden even promised to restore the monuments during his presidential campaign. But she’s facing opposition from Utah’s state leaders and congressional delegation, who have historically opposed the monument.