BY TERRY TEMPEST WILLIAMS AND BILL HEDDEN
In a world of fake news, the Utah delegation in step with Gov. Gary Herbert is participating in fake history when it comes to the Bears Ears National Monument proposal. They decry a "midnight monument" but, in truth, the protection of these vulnerable lands has been in the making for several years. It is a tribal proposal supported by the conservation community and supported by the majority of Utahns and Americans.
Utah Dine Bikeyah was founded in 2010 to push for protection of Bears Ears either through legislation or a presidential proclamation. At the same time, many conservation groups were advocating a Greater Canyonlands Monument for roughly the same area. Rep. Rob Bishop launched his Public Lands Initiative (PLI) three years later, in February 2013, with the express goal of substituting comprehensive legislation for any monument proclamation...