Bears Ears is more than a bargaining chip

In October, the Biden administration announced that it was reversing the Trump administration’s reduction of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, among others. The decision arrived four years after President Trump’s Interior Department reduced the protected area around Bears Ears by 85%, angering the many tribal leaders and citizens who have stewarded the area since time immemorial.

Among those leading the charge to reinstate the Obama-era protections was Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk, a citizen and former head councilwoman of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. As co-chair of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, Lopez-Whiteskunk has for decades pushed U.S. elected officials to consult with — and listen to — the tribal nations affected by this series of back-and-forth designations. Lopez-Whiteskunk spoke with about the Biden administration’s decision, her family’s ties to these lands and what a long-term plan for Bears