The Bears Ears

A Human History

Norton,

The Bears Ears in southeast Utah has always been a sacred site to the native peoples of that region, and in 2016, Obama designated the area a National Monument, deeply upsetting Utah lawmakers who believe all land should be privately owned and maintained. Less than a year later, Trump reduced the territory marked as a monument by 85%, opening up the remaining land for mining and drilling, privatization, large-scale evisceration of resources, and looting of antiquities. The land, which has been sacred to many native tribes, beloved of nature-lovers and conservationists, and a refuge for outlaws such as Butch Cassidy and Matt Warner, has now become the battle grounds for an acrimonious dispute over public land.

David Roberts is a climber, a mountaineer, and an author who visits Bears Ears twice a year, affording him a unique familiarity with the terrain and the history of this treasured region. The Bears Ears is the story of civilizations, cultures and individuals, native and American, who have called the region home, and brings the debate over conservation and Federal land use to light in a poignant and very real way.