Does Tourism or Industry Win?

President Trump’s announcement Monday that he will reduce Bears Ears National Monument by more than 80 percent has triggered a much larger drama that’s about to unfold.

The controversial decision to scale back the sprawling region of red rock canyons from its current 1.35 million acres to a mere 228,337 acres is expected to ignite a battle that may very well alter the course of American land conservation.

This is the largest reduction of a national monument to date according to The New York Times, and critics far and wide are expressing concern that this action will open millions of protected public acres to oil and gas extraction, mining, logging and other commercial activities.

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The president’s decision on its face also sacrifices the protection of public lands for future generations in favor of profit.

Utah Senator Orrin Hatch and other local Republican leaders argue otherwise, noting that the federal government controls about two-thirds of the land in Utah. They say control of the land should be left to the state or county.

It should not go unnoticed that the decision also has ramifications for the travel industry, as the president is dismantling and significantly downsizing places that attract visitors from around the country and the world.

Bears Ears is one of two national monuments affected by the announcement. The 1.9-million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument—created by President Bill Clinton—will also be reduced to one million acres.

Trump’s proclamations split the two national monuments into several smaller pieces of land, according to CNN. Bears Ears will be divided into two separate monument sections. Grand Staircase-Escalante, will be split into three sections.

Additional national monuments and lands may also be on the chopping block. As part of the review, Trump asked Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to undertake back in April, there were 27 monuments under the microscope.

There is now concern from many corners that Bears Ears and Grand Staircase are just the beginning.

As former Secretary of Interior Sally Jewel noted in the New York Times article, Trump’s latest move imperils “the places that are spectacular, that make people want to visit us, that are owned by all of us, that are not owned by kings and queens and nobility.”

Bears Ears was created last year by President Obama just before he left office. It was a move celebrated by local Native American tribe members who said their concerns about protecting the land had finally been heard.

A place dominated by tall red cliffs, deep canyons and mesas, the land is also home to 100,000 sacred Native American ruins, including birth and burial sites dating back centuries and rock art that is 1200 years old. Bear’s Ears was the first truly Native American national monument championed by a coalition of tribes formed in 2015 that included the Ute, Ute Mountain Ute, Zuni, Hope and Navajo. The tribes had put aside ancient rivalries in order to lobby for the monument’s protection.

These same tribes will now file a lawsuit, and they are not alone. The founder of outdoor gear company Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard, will also be taking legal action.

“I’m going to sue him,” Chouinard told CNN. “It seems the only thing this administration understands is lawsuits. I think it’s a shame that only 4 percent of American lands are national parks. Costa Rica’s got 10 percent. Chile will now have way more parks than we have. We need more, not less. This government is evil and I’m not going to sit back and let evil win.”

The Center for Biological Diversity has also indicated that it too will be joining the legal battles against the Trump administration.

“This illegal action will cement Trump’s legacy as one of the worst presidents in modern history,” Center for Biological Diversity public lands program director Randi Spivak told The Salt Lake Tribune. “Trump has no clue how much people love these sacred and irreplaceable landscapes, but he’s about to find out. He’s shown his blatant disregard for public lands, Native Americans and the law. We look forward to seeing him in court.”

Ultimately, Trump’s action raises questions about presidential misuse of power, something he has repeatedly criticized his predecessors for. As the Los Angeles Times pointed out, Trump’s public lands declaration today is unlike any ever made by a U.S. chief executive.

Previous presidents have adjusted national monuments about 40 times. However, all but 14 of those changes were to expand boundaries. No prior president has revoked a national monument designation, the Los Angeles Times explained. And no president has come close to reducing the boundaries by as much as Trump has done in the case of Bears Ears or Grand Staircase-Escalante.

"This is unprecedented — and it's illegal," Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a statement. "Presidents use the Antiquities Act to create national monuments and protect our special lands and waters for future generations. This president thinks he can use it to destroy them. He does not have that authority. What's next, President Trump — the Grand Canyon? See you in court."

There are Utah locals who are in favor Trump’s decision. Bears Ears is the fifth national park or monument in San Juan County, according to CNN, a place described as the biggest and poorest in Utah.

Local County Commissioner Phil Lyman told CNN that oil and gas extraction would have less impact on the landscape than tourism, which he argued brings hordes of people to sensitive places.

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While it is certainly understandable that locals want more control over the land, the president’s move is historic and unprecedented. Lyman's sentiment fails to acknowledge many ramifications including the permanent damage done to landscapes by fracking, mining and drilling.

Former County Commissioner and Navajo elder Mark Maryboy told CNN the canyon holds the spirits of his loved ones and that the rock carvings are as sacred as any art in the Vatican or on any wall in Jerusalem.

“The local white community members are determined to get rid of all the rock art,” he said. “It stands in the way of progress for them. It stands in the way of a job. New cars. New clothes. Rolex watch.”

According to an analysis by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, revoking the original boundaries and establishing smaller monuments makes it far easier to access the coal reserves as well as to develop Uranium, oil and gas reserves.

Trump, Hatch, Zinke and many others described this action as a victory for Utah locals. However, there are many voices expressing concern, characterizing this effort as a defeat for the American people, for the environment and for the five Indian nations who fought for generations to protect the Bears Ears region in particular.

The battle over these monuments will now shift to the courts. Over the longer term, however, the question being raised by many is whether this is what we as a people stand for—the dismantling of national treasures for the benefit of industry?

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