If you live in Durango, you probably enjoy the out of doors. You also have probably traveled to nearby Southeast Utah and enjoyed the millions of acres of public lands including the Bears Ears area. In a recent Herald story about the annual “Conservation in the West” poll, released by Colorado College, the poll shows Western voters don’t want to give away federal lands. The poll also found that 84 percent of Coloradoans support presidential authority for National Monument designation.
We should all be thankful that President Obama protected Chimney Rock and Browns Canyon here in Colorado. Now he needs to act on the request by Native Americans to protect the 1.9 million acre Bears Ears area in southeastern Utah.
The Bears Ears is the most significant unprotected cultural and archaeological area in the U.S. With more than 100,000 cultural sites, it is sacred ground to Native American people who trace their ancestry to those who built the dwellings and created the rock art that grace these lands. Bears Ears remains vital to tribal communities as a place of ceremony, subsistence and healing.
Bears Ears is also one of the most spectacular, unspoiled and diverse landscapes on Earth. Proclaiming Bears Ears a national monument would help heal Native Americans, the land, and the collective human spirit. The easiest way to lend your support in protecting Bears Ears is through Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. Contact SUWA (suwa.org) and ask how you can support protecting Bears Ears forever.
Bob Kuhnert
Durango
