BY HEIDI MCINTOSH
The ink was barely dry on President Barack Obama’s proclamation creating Bears Ears National Monument in southern Utah when it came under attack from Utah’s congressional delegation. And not because the monument isn’t worthy of protection — it certainly is.
The monument stretches across remarkably scenic mesas, towering sandstone cliffs, and canyons that epitomize the beauty of southern Utah. Native Americans have occupied the area for thousands of years and have deep cultural and religious ties to the lands, which house the archaeological and cultural legacy of their ancestors. It’s also a striking wilderness where bears, bighorn sheep and mountain lions thrive and quiet reigns. Two buttes jut thousands of feet above canyon lands to form the region’s namesake, “Bears Ears.”