FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SALT LAKE CITY, UT — Voters in Utah overwhelmingly support Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, and the protection of public lands in general, according to a new poll released January 14, 2025 by public opinion research firm New Bridge Strategy. The survey of 500 registered voters across Utah also revealed that a huge majority of voters (89%) support Native American co-stewardship of ancestral lands and four in five (81%) favor keeping the landmark collaborative management agreement between tribes and land managers in place for Bears Ears.
"I'm really encouraged by these poll results," said Charissa Miijessepe-Wilson, co-director of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, the intertribal coalition (Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Pueblo of Zuni, Ute Indian Tribe) that advocated for Bears Ears National Monument's designation in 2016 to protect ancestral lands. "As Indigenous people, we've been taking care of land as long as we've lived on this earth," Miijessepe-Wilson continued. "In present-day collaborative management, the tribes work together with the BLM and U.S. Forest Service to ensure Bears Ears National Monument's current and future care. The tribes have always understood the importance of relationships and being good relatives. It's that understanding that has positioned us as natural and fitting land managers...The tribes remain steadfast in wanting to protect this landscape."
Bears Ears National Monument was designated in 2016, slashed in 2017, and restored in 2021.
SEE FOR YOURSELF
See the slide deck of the poll's key findings ›
Read an overview of the poll's key findings in a memo from the polling firm ›
The survey found that 75% of Utah voters support presidents’ ability to protect public lands as national monuments and nearly two out of three voters (65%) support keeping the number and current size of existing national monuments. This support is strong across political parties, including 98% of Democrats, 82% of Independents, and 65% of Republicans.
"Often we see elected officials or folks will hear from a very small minority on particular issues. And so the real benefit, I think, of having data that indicates how voters throughout the state are thinking about this is that it provides that broader perspective," said Lori Weigel of New Bridge Strategy, which conducted the poll in December 2024.
Utah voters are also united in their desire to see continued protections for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.
71% of Utah voters support continuing to keep Bears Ears as a national monument, including 94% of Democrats, 80% of Independents, and 61% of Republicans.
74% support continuing to keep Grand Staircase-Escalante as a national monument, including 96% of Democrats, 80% of Independents, and 65% of Republicans.
Grand Staircase-Escalante was designated a national monument in 1996.
"Areas like Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument are known in the Southern Paiute language as our Yanawant or our Holy Land. In Southern Paiute teachings, we are taught from infancy that we are the stewards of these lands which must be protected and preserved for future generations," said Autumn Gillard, a member of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah. "Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument holds thousands of years of Southern Paiute cultural history as well as ancestral history and ties for our relative tribes. It is through our strong connection to the land that we can maintain our spiritual and religious beliefs and practices," Gillard continued. "Many assume that cultural sites have been abandoned, or refer to them as ruins. These places are not abandoned, nor are they ruined. We are the living descendants of the ancestors that left their footprints and writings on these landscapes. We are the true stewards and the original ones of this land." Gillard added: "I encourage the state and federal government agencies to be proactive in consulting with tribes. It is only through collaboration that we can work with one another to understand each other's perspectives as well as to maintain, restore, and conserve these lands for future generations of Americans to enjoy and appreciate."
Nearly nine in 10 (89%) of Utah voters agree it is important for Native American tribes to have a strong role in managing their ancestral lands and four in five voters say the next administration should keep the agreement with tribes regarding how Bears Ears is managed in place. Support for honoring this agreement is strong across party lines, with 99% of Democrats, 84% of independents, and 74% of Republicans saying the next administration should keep the tribal cooperative agreement in place.
In 2017, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was shrunk by 47% and Bears Ears National Monument by 85%. In 2021, protections were restored for both national monuments. Fully two-thirds of Utah voters (67%) say restoring protections was more of a good thing.
"This polling shows that Utah’s political leaders who seek to diminish Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante are out of step their constituents. Across all political stripes, Utahns want Bears Ears and Grand Staircase left intact," said Tim Peterson, cultural landscapes director for the Grand Canyon Trust. "It’s hard to get nine in 10 Utahns to agree on anything, but that’s how strongly Utah voters favor tribes’ ability to have a say over how their ancestral lands are managed. The incoming administration needs to respect tribes by keeping the historic collaborative management agreement for Bears Ears in place."
National public lands are deeply intwined in Utahns lifestyles and identities. 87% of those polled said they had visited national public lands in the past year; more than one-third said they had visited five or more times. And Utahns recognize the importance of protecting history, with 97% prioritizing protecting historic sites such as Native American petroglyphs, cliff dwelling, or pioneer artifacts on national public lands.
When asked about speculation that the incoming administration might again attempt to slash the monument boundaries, State Senator Nate Blouin, a Democrat who represents Utah State Senate District 13, said, "I think the biggest message is asking constituents to reach out to their legislators, to their federal representatives, and tell them they support the current designation because there's going to be closer ties between the federal administration and the state administration than there has been over the last four years, and that's a concern to me, and I think a concern for the continued conservation of monument areas."
Photos, free for media use
Bears Ears National Monument photos ›
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument photos ›
Background
ABOUT THE MONUMENTS
Bears Ears National Monument was designated on December 28, 2016. Read the proclamation ›
Protections were restored to Bears Ears National Monument on October 8, 2021. Read the proclamation ›
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was designated on September 18, 1996. Read the proclamation ›
Protections were restored to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument on October 8, 2021. Read the proclamation ›
Maps
Bears Ears National Monument
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
