Conservation groups are lining up to oppose a proposal in Congress that could jeopardize national monument protections for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah.

They’re also warning that other landscapes, such as Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in Colorado, could be next.

Tracy Coppola, Colorado senior program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, said a range of stakeholders stepped up 30 years ago to preserve Grand Staircase, which is sacred to tribal nations as an ancestral homeland. She said the monument is also a lifeline for the gateway communities that welcome visitors from all states and around the globe.

"So when it was designated, it really was a promise to all of those voices that were standing up for it," she said. "If that designation goes away, that will be a betrayal of that promise to tribes and to the American people."

Citing a recent report from the Government Accountability Office, Utah’s Congressional delegation has introduced a resolution to overturn a Resource Management Plan for the 1.8 million-acre preserve that was formally adopted just days before President Joe Biden left office. The plan currently allows for recreational access, protection of cultural sites, safeguards for wildlife habitat, restrictions on off-road vehicles in sensitive areas and more.

Coppola noted that the monument’s science-based management plan is the result of years of work that included consultation with 19 tribes.

"That also includes the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe here in both Colorado and Utah, she said. "They are not just stakeholders in this process, they are actually nations that have ownership over these lands."

Coppola said keeping places such as Grand Staircase intact for future generations requires careful development, public input and tribal consultation, all of which helped create the current management plan. She said throwing out that plan through the Congressional Review Act would put all monuments at risk.

"We need to ensure," she said, "that Grand Staircase and national monuments nationwide continue to be managed through this very thoughtful, public, science-driven process."

Source: Public News Service