“That the President of the United States is hereby authorized, in his discretion, to declare by public proclamation historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated upon the lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States to be national monuments.”
We need to acknowledge the above language, establishing the Antiquities Act, qualifies the Bears Ears to be a national monument. Also, let's be honest, the Public Lands Initiative and land grab are going nowhere. For those who don’t like the federal government stepping in via national monument proclamation there is another method to recognize the significance of the Bears Ears. The legislative branch, our elected officials, can make Bears Ears National Monument a national park. Congress did this with Arches National Park and the sagebrush flats of the Grand Teton National Park. Both received initial national monument protection before being created/expanded as national parks.
Two interesting examples of historic site protection in these parks are the Wolfe Ranch in Arches NP and Mormon Row in Grand Teton NP. By allowing the same privilege for Anasazi ruins in the Bears Ears, Teddy Roosevelt will be proud of us.
John Hoener
Heber