"Local Stakeholders Sidelined in Misguided Management"

Washington, D.C. – Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) responded to the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) finalization of the proposed management plan for the Bears Ears National Monument (BENM), a 1.36 million-acre monument in Southern Utah. Senator Lee criticized the plan, highlighting a lack of local input and its harmful impact on Utahns who depend on the land for their livelihoods.

"Once again, the Biden administration has imposed a one-size-fits-all management plan that disregards the voices of those who know the land best—Utahns," Senator Lee stated. "While the administration has bent over backward to ensure input from special interests, it has failed to afford the same consideration to the people of Utah. These are public lands, yet the public most affected by these decisions—the ranchers, recreationists, and workers—has been sidelined."

Senator Lee noted that despite years of negotiation, the state of Utah and the federal government could not finalize the long-awaited land exchange with the State Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), a failure that he attributes to the administration's unwillingness to collaborate in good faith.

"This plan is the latest in a long line of top-down, federal overreach that prioritizes political agendas over real solutions. Utahns deserve better than to be treated as second-class citizens when it comes to managing their own lands."

Lee called on the administration to revisit the plan and give Utahns a true seat at the table.