The rumored plans for a new national monument in southeastern Utah have prompted a state panel to call for an investigation. Members of Utah’s Constitutional Defense Council are asking the governor’s office and the attorney general to look into the organizations fighting over the proposal for the Bears Ears national monument.
Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, initially wanted an investigation into the motives and financing of groups urging President Obama to create the monument.
“There’s a pretty strong connection between some of the individuals that are playing a role that they have with the environmental organizations to move this forward for their own individual purposes,” Noel told the council, which is made up of representatives from state and county government.
Monument opponents have said that Native Americans are being used to push the agenda of environmental groups to create what Noel called a “mega-monument.”
The Southern Wilderness Alliance is one of the organizations Noel mentioned by name as a likely target of an investigation.
“Treating tribes, treating environmental groups as if we were drug dealers and gangs – this is pretty ludicrous,” said David Garbett, a SUWA attorney. “These are the actions of a banana republic. This isn’t democracy.”
Willie Grayeyes is a Navajo and founder of Utah Dine Bikeyah, part of a Native American coalitionthat wants Bears Ears protected for its cultural and environmental treasures. Grayeyes said his nonprofit has nothing to hide from state investigators.
“To accuse Utah Navajo Bikeyah members being used as a tool,” he said, “they should look at their position and look at themselves and how the developers are using them to open the doors to certain landscapes.”
In the end, the council approved a probe of both supporters AND opponents. That’s because one council member pointed out that a one-sided investigation might look like bullying or intimidation.
