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Monumental Controversy

17 images Created 3 Mar 2021

Just before leaving office, President Obama created Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. The monument, which added stricter protections to land that was already managed by the federal government, was highly contentious in the local community.

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  • Just before leaving office, President Obama created Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. The monument, which added stricter protections to land that was already managed by the federal government, was highly contentious in the local community. The consecutive oxbows of the San Juan River, seen from Goosenecks State Park, are just outside the boundaries of the monument as it was originally created.
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  • Bears Ears National Monument includes several popular cultural and natural features. Tourists view Newspaper Rock, a popular petroglyph site in Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, U.S. October 29, 2017.
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  • Houses and trailers in Blanding, Utah sit in front of the Abajo Mountains, part of the original Bears Ears National Monument. Many local residents did not want the monument created, arguing that the designation would reduce local control over use of the resource.
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  • A painting of a bear hangs on the wall of Higher Grounds, the only dedicated coffee shop in Blanding. The shop sells as much soda as coffee, since many local residents are Mormons who don't consume caffeine, but visitors to nearby Bears Ears National Monument and other public lands in San Juan County keep up the demand for coffee.
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  • A vehicle displays a sticker opposing the Bears Ears National Monument in  Blanding. Photographed for Reuters.
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  • Native American communities in the region largely supported the monument designation, wanting to protect the tribes' historical and contemporary relationships with the land, including Cedar Mesa. Tewa Martin and Sylas Burbank, both from Montezuma Creek, sit on a truck before riding in the Bluff Navajo Fair parade in Bluff, Utah, U.S. October 28, 2017. Photographed for Reuters.
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  • Trick-or-treaters stand for a photograph in Blanding. Photographed for Reuters.
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  • Members of the Ivins family move cattle toward winter pasture in Bears Ears National Monument, Utah. Though their grazing permits remained intact after the monument was created, the ranching family feared that changes would be made in the future.
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  • Comb Wash cuts from north to south through Cedar Mesa in Bears Ears National Monument near Blanding, Utah, U.S.
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  • Oil pumpjacks stand near Aneth, Utah, U.S. October 29, 2017. While many opponents of the Bears Ears National Monument say that the designation reduces economic opportunity for the communities surrounding it, there was no oil or natural gas production taking place within the monument when it was created. Much of the oil production in San Juan County is near Aneth, a Navajo Nation town to the southeast of the monument.  Photographed for Reuters.
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  • Eric Yellowman collects firewood from Bears Ears National Monument, Utah. Yellowman uses a wood and coal-burning stove to heat his home on the nearby Navajo Nation.
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  • Evangie Gray stands next to remains of a hogan on her aunt and uncle's property in Westwater, a small community near Blanding and Bears Ears National Monument, Utah. Gray supported the creation of the monument.
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  • Tourists explore House on Fire, a popular archeological site in Bears Ears National Monument.
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  • A covered all terrain vehicle and a fleet of bikes rest in a front yard in Blanding, Utah, U.S. October 30, 2017. Many residents fear that increased tourism due to nearby Bears Ears National Monument will change the small-town character of their community. Photographed for Reuters.
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  • Rancher Jared Randall ran into a tree branch and sustained a minor cut to his face while pursuing cows on horseback near Monticello, Utah, U.S. October 31, 2017.
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  • The moon rises over First Baptist Church in Blanding, Utah, U.S. October 31, 2017.
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  • In October 2017, less than a year after the creation of the monument, President Trump announced that the monument would be reduced in size by more than half, and split into two sectors. Indian Creek, an area that attracts off-highway vehicle enthusiasts and rock climbers from around the world, covers became the northern portion of Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, U.S. October 29, 2017.  Photographed for Reuters.
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Andrew Cullen

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