January 20, 2021
SALT LAKE CITY — Today, Utah Attorney General joined the state’s Congressional delegation and state leaders in opposing President Biden’s Executive Order on returning monument status to millions of acres of land in the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante areas.
In a joint statement, the delegation wrote:
“For over 25 years Utah has been the center of controversial and divisive unilateral national monument decisions. Roughly two-thirds of our backyard belongs to the federal government, which has meant land management actions have often been done to us rather than with us. A review in name only with predetermined results, which ultimately leads to a unilateral executive order enlarging the monuments’ boundaries, will not solve the root of the problem and will only deepen divisions in this country. We share a sincere desire to find a collaborative, broadly supported solution to the political football of national monuments in Utah, specifically Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments. It is imperative that President Biden bring the State of Utah to the table and work with state and local elected leaders toward a consensus product, including a permanent solution approved by Congress. President Biden championed a message of unity during his campaign, and we stand ready to work across party lines towards a permanent solution.”
In addition to AG Reyes, those co-authoring the statement are: Senator Mitt Romney, Senator Mike Lee, Congressmen John Curtis, Chris Stewart, Burgess Owens, Blake Moore, State Senate President Stuart Adams and Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson.
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