Climate Changed
Trump Takes Aim at Western Monuments That May Hold Oil, Coal
- Areas set aside by Obama as natural wonders now under review
- Critics say Trump may bow to oil companies, end protections
In addition to about 1.35m acres of federal land, Bears Ears National Monument’s boundary encompasses about 109k acres of land owned by the state of Utah and 12.6k acres held by private landowners.
Source: Bureau of Land ManagementThis article is for subscribers only.
Bears Ears National Monument in Utah boasts stretches of red-and-yellow sandstone so brilliant they appear to be ablaze and rock structures so precarious they appear to defy gravity.
The rugged terrain south of the Colorado River also has reserves of oil and natural gas that are currently off limits to new leasing -- restrictions that may end as the Trump administration reviews 27 large-scale monuments his predecessors set aside for protection.