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Interior Secretary Haaland Wraps Up Utah National Monument Visit

Rick Bowmer/AP

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland has wrapped up a three-day visit to Utah to meet with elected officials, Tribal leaders and stakeholders invested in stewardship of two national monuments.

Secretary Haaland made field visits and held meetings concerning the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. The Secretary was in the state as part of the Biden administration’s review of the monuments’ boundaries and management conditions. In 2016, President Barack Obama created the Bears Ears National Monument. His proclamation recognized the area as “profoundly sacred” to many Native American tribes. In 2017, President Donald Trump reduced Bears Ears by 85 percent.