The large landscapes within Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments are home to thousands of cultural and archaeological sites, vast ecosystems, and many incredible running trails. While Runners for Public Lands is unequivocally opposed to the current administration’s recent actions to remove national monument protections from nearly three million acres across these lands, we are still processing how our organization should fit into the ongoing national discourse. There are other outdoor recreation, conservation, and Indigenous-led organizations that have been working on protections for and management of these areas long before Runners for Public Lands was even founded. Rather than jump headlong into advocacy and policy efforts surrounding these national monuments, we are taking time to decide how best to authentically and meaningfully support the groups who have been on the frontlines in this fight for so long.
Developing a thoughtful approach is vital as the administration’s move once again uproots 120 years of norms when it comes to national monuments. What has happened in Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante could lead to reductions of other national monuments around the country, and it will certainly lead to more debate about how best to implement large landscape protections. All of this comes at a time when the current administration and Congress are weakening bedrock environmental regulations, opening up public lands to extractive industries, and leaving the public out of the decision-making process.
Featured photo of Bears Ears National Monument by Bob Wick