Proposed management plan released for Bears Ears National Monument

A proposed plan to manage Bears Ears National Monument is set to be released by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service on October 4.
In an interview with Redrock92, Jake Palma, field manager of the Monticello Field Office of the BLM, explained that the public input resulted in several changes to the initial plan.
The proposed plan is a hybrid version of Alternative E from the draft plan. Alternative E was one of five alternatives under consideration by the federal agencies. The alternatives were released in March, 2024.
Discussing how the process worked out, Palma added, “A lot of folks maybe have the perception that the federal agencies have our minds made-up as we go into these processes of what things are going to look like. And as far as management on the ground, I don't think that can be further from the truth.
“We as federal agencies take these public engagement periods pretty seriously and want to learn and, and hear from various communities about how they feel this landscape should be managed.”
The agencies received approximately 19,000 comments on the proposed plan and Palma said they were carefully reviewed. “Probably about 17,000 comments are what we would call form letters. So they're generally very similar comments to each other.
“Then there's about 2,000 others that are individual unique comments. Staff drafted responses to every single comment that was substantive… We want to make sure that people's voices are heard. In a lot of cases, we made changes based on what the public was saying.”
Adjustments to the previous plan includes the implementation of a permit system for motorized use in Arch Canyon. Palma explained, “We received a lot of comments from the public about the BLM closing Arch Canyon to motorized use. So we went through a process and looked at that resource and determined that we're going to leave Arch Canyon open and available to motorized use.
“We will develop a permit system as part of the travel management plan in Arch Canyon… I hope the public will help us develop that permit system in a way that best manages that canyon.”
Palma added that rock climbing in the Indian Creek corridor could change in the proposed plan.
Palma said, “There's one pretty big change for Indian Creek management under this plan. …We just want people to understand and be mindful of how they're climbing.
“One aspect of climbing is there's a culture of creating your own routes. We are telling the public that the creation of new climbing routes needs to be done through a process.
“The BLM and Forest Service will collaborate with the Bears Ears Commission and others who have interest in this in the development of new climbing routes within Bears Ears. We would go through the NEPA process and analyze what the impacts would be in that specific place.”
The process would allow the opportunity to determine the possible impact to cultural resources, wildlife, the access trails, sensitive soils, vegetation, etc.
Palma added, “It could be frustrating for some in the climbing community, but I believe we can work together to come to common ground and to develop a good climbing route system that allows for climbing to continue… but being more mindful of where we're putting up routes and how many.”
Another change is the different visual resource classes. Palma added, “We have Class 1 Visual Resource Management, which is the most restrictive, while Class 2 provides a little more flexibility.
“The majority of the monument was Class 1, which would have been restrictive for even some creative solutions for livestock grazing, recreation, and other things on the landscape.
The management plan is a lot less Class 1 and more Class 2, which provides us a little bit of wiggle room to manage for different uses.
The proposed plan to manage the massive 1.36 million-acre monument – covering one of the richest cultural landscapes in the United States – will attempt to balance sometimes competing needs, including cultural resources, traditional uses, and outdoor recreation.
When ask of any development in the future, Palma added, “It's a big landscape. How do we provide an opportunity to the public to come and to understand the sensitive landscape that they're coming to?
“I think lots of strategies that this management plan considered for educating the public and providing experiences are meaningful, educational and thoughtful.
“In the recreation section of the plan we're developing management zones for recreation. The front country zone is going to focus on where the majority of visitors probably tend to come.
“So those are areas where you'll have more interpretation and education and more places that we’ll identify for the public to come and visit.
“The majority of visitors who are just coming for a day visit can come to a place like House on Fire that we're in the process, even now, of developing a trailhead with an improved parking area, a toilet facility and more education interpretation there.
“Especially in these front country zones, people visiting those places will be better informed and educated if they do decide to venture out into other areas.
“They're slowly gaining this understanding and reverence for the landscape and why this place is so special and why they need to respect that.”
Covering one of the richest cultural landscapes in the United States, Bears Ears is entirely contained in San Juan County. It includes 1.1 million acres of BLM ground and 260,000 acres of Forest Service ground.
The proposed plan, if approved, would ensure lasting protections for cultural and natural resources, including ancestral cliff dwellings and culturally significant landscapes, while providing continued opportunities for outdoor recreation such as hiking, camping, and hunting.
Officials state the plan incorporates Tribal input, public feedback, and is informed by the best available science, including Indigenous Knowledge, to ensure balanced use and protection of important resources.
The Presidential Proclamation establishing the monument called for Tribal co-stewardship of the monument and established the Bears Ears Commission, comprised of representatives from five Tribes whose ancestral homelands are in part encompassed by the monument.
When asked what would be unique about Bears Ear's National Monument, Palma stated, “This management plan sets the stage for partnerships. I believe and hope that with this new management plan, the BLM, Forest Service, tribal nations, state and local governments, the public in general, and people interested in the landscape work together to manage this place.
“I believe we have a two-fold mission and purpose of this management plan. #1 This management plan is to create a sense of reverence for this landscape. There's a lot of cultural significance in the Bears Ears landscape to many different groups.
“I feel like one of the purposes of this plan is to help people who come and visit and use this landscape to understand that cultural significance and the importance of this place.
“The second part is the Presidential Proclamation is clear that important uses happen on this landscape. Important historical uses of this landscape, such as recreation and grazing, will continue to happen.
“I think when people think of Bears Ears National Monument and why it was protected and created as a National Monument, people have in mind the incredible cultural resources that are out there, standing structures like House on Fire and incredible rock art and things like that.
“But as we've learned, the cultural resources of Bears Ears National Monument are more than just those things that you can see with your eyes. It's a connection between water and vegetation and the sky and animals and soil and all of these things tie together to create what is a living cultural landscape.”
"Bears Ears is integral to our ceremonies, traditions, and identity as Tribal Peoples. Co-stewarding this sacred landscape with our agency counterparts ensures we can continue passing down our cultures and lifeways,” said The Bears Ears Commission.
“We hope the invitation to return to our ancestral homelands as collaborative managers will commence a much-needed collective healing process. This Proposed Resource Management Plan represents the Tribes’ deep engagement with, and commitment to, the first national monument established at the request of five Tribal Nations and the first to formally adopt Traditional Indigenous Knowledge as a guiding principle in the enduring management framework for the monument."
The BLM and Forest Service opened a public comment period for the draft resource management plan in March 2024. During the comment period, BLM and Forest Service held seven public meetings, two advisory committee meetings, received, reviewed, and addressed nearly 19,000 public comments, and engaged with local stakeholders and cooperators.
Interestingly, in a previous public response to a prior Bears Ears Management plan, approximately 250,000 comments were received, compared to 19,000 this time.
The agencies also worked closely with the five Tribes of the Bears Ears Commission – the Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, and the Pueblo of Zuni.
A Notice of Availability published in the Federal Register begins a 30-day protest period and a 60-day Governor’s Consistency Review. The protest period ends on November 4.
Following the protest resolution and governor’s consistency review response periods, the BLM will issue a Record of Decision and approved Resource Management Plan, and the Forest Service will issue a Record of Decision amending the 1986 Manti-La Sal National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan.
Those who previously participated in the planning process and have an interest that may be adversely affected by the proposed plan may file a plan protest electronically via the BLM National NEPA Register (preferred); or delivered to: BLM Director, Attention: Protest Coordinator (HQ210), Denver Federal Center, Building 40 (Door W-4), Lakewood, CO 80215.
For additional information, please contact Jill Stephenson at 435-259-2100.