Newly confirmed Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will make a trip to Utah next month for a tour of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, as the Biden administration reviews former President Donald Trump’s decision to drastically downsize the two national monuments.
Utah’s congressional delegation and state leaders on Wednesday welcomed the news of Haaland’s upcoming visit, which they said would give her the chance to speak with local elected officials and residents in the communities surrounding the monuments. And they expressed hope that after touring the area, Haaland would agree with them that it will take legislation rather than executive action to settle years of debate over the monument boundaries...