A new poll released September 9 shows that a majority of Utah voters support restoring protections for the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. The survey results were announced during a Wednesday press conference as mining claims on lands previously under monument protection are scheduled to open on Friday, Sept. 11.
The polling, conducted by New Bridge Strategy and commissioned by the Grand Canyon Trust, found that 66% of Utah voters believe greater protections should be restored to all of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. Additionally, 82% of Utah voters stated it is important for Native American Tribes to have a strong role in managing public lands that contain sacred or culturally significant sites.
On July 13, President Trump issued a proclamation that reduced the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante Monuments by 90%, leaving 303,000 acres combined from an original span of more than 3 million acres. This reduction opened the cut lands to mining and other commercial interests and terminated a coalition of tribal leaders that had guided the management of the lands for four years.
Davina Smith-Idjesa, Diné, co-chair of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, stated at the press conference that the findings demonstrate broad public recognition that tribal nations must remain meaningfully involved in the stewardship and co-management of ancestral lands. She noted that the monuments are sacred places and living landscapes where ceremonies and histories continue today.
The lands are considered sacred to several regional tribes, including the Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Ute Indian Tribe, and the Pueblo of Zuni. The area contains thousands of archaeological and cultural sites, such as ancestral villages, ceremonial locations, rock art, and cliff dwellings.
Autumn Gillard, a descendant of the Cedar Band of Paiutes and coordinator of the Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal Coalition, said that protecting historic structures and trails allows descendants to maintain connections to the achievements and hardships of their ancestors. Gillard noted that responsible management must preserve the full cultural record and include the communities connected to the landscape.
The opening of mining claims coincides with concerns regarding the health impacts of previous uranium mining. Between the 1940s and the 1970s, mining on Native lands left many vulnerable to respiratory disease, cancers, and kidney disease due to uranium exposure. While mining companies began filing claims the day after the July proclamation, all claims filed before this Friday, Sept. 11, are considered invalid. The poll also found that 81% of voters oppose selling public lands to private interests.
