Bears Ears Coalition & Interior Department Ignore Invitations to Collaborate with Utah Lawmakers
WASHINGTON – Representatives Rob Bishop (UT-01) and Jason Chaffetz (UT-03) have asked the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, as well as the Department of the Interior, for proposed co-management language to be added to the Utah Public Lands Initiative Act (PLI). The coalition has refused to provide any language and, in a recent communication, refused to collaborate on the issue.
Rep. Bishop personally called the Secretary of the Interior, and in a September 14th hearing of the Subcommittee on Federal Lands, Bishop reiterated his desire to hear from the Department of the Interior with suggested legislative language for co-management within PLI. The Department of the Interior has yet to respond. Members of Utah’s congressional delegation sent letters (Nov 2nd & 18th) to the co-chairmen and members of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition seeking potential language to implement a co-management system.
Congressmen Bishop & Chaffetz issued the following statements:
Bishop: “It’s important for Congress to protect this area because the stated goals of the administration cannot be done with an executive order. Only a change in statute can accomplish these goals. I like the idea of co-management. The president, with or without the Antiquities Act, cannot produce it. We are committed to doing it. My office has now written draft language to create a system of co-management.
“It is frustrating that efforts to work with people who claim a great interest in this area are continuously rebuffed with arguments that parrot special interest groups. Ironically, if this group is banking on a monument, they will never get the co-management they want. We’re willing to give it to them. Why can’t they just say yes?”
Chaffetz: “The President’s promise of co-management between the tribes and the federal government cannot be gained through executive action. Only Congress can authorize such agreements.”
Co-management would grant authority to Native Americans to share power in the decision-making process. The law does not currently allow for co-management, and the President has no power to deliver it through executive order, even through the Antiquities Act. Only Congress can make this happen.
Background and further information can be found at UtahPLI.com.
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Bishop Speaks With Trump Transition Team
WASHINGTON – On Monday, December 05, 2016, Rep. Rob Bishop (UT-01) participated in a series of conversations with different members of President-Elect Donald Trump’s transition team to discuss potential policy options for the new administration and Department of the Interior. The discussions included potential reactions to a Bears Ears National Monument designation. Following the meetings, Rep. Bishop released the following statement:
“Any monument designation that lacks local support, is excessive, or violates the terms of the Antiquities Act will be scrutinized and is easier to abolish. Today’s discussions with the transition team examined options for the incoming administration. The talks were positive and encouraging.”
The Antiquities Act of 1906 empowers the president to unilaterally declare federally owned land to be a national monument. That land must contain an antiquity, “be confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected,” and the declaration must be protecting an antiquity from imminent danger. The Act does not prohibit a president from abolishing or modifying the terms of a previously declared monument which has not been ratified by Congress.
