The following is a statement from Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert regarding the executive orders shrinking Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. Learn more and get involved at Patagonia Action Works.
Today’s action by the Trump administration to all but eliminate Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments is yet another attempt to liquidate lands that Tribes and the American public hold dear.
Tribal Nations are the original stewards of the area, with ties to Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante stretching back thousands of years. It is vital we support their vision to ensure these sacred cultural landscapes are protected. Today’s move by the president does the exact opposite. It is the government turning its back on tribal co-management and opening the land to industry interest. We remain committed to defending the land with those who have stewarded the area for time immemorial.
We are proud to have been part of the coalition of Tribal Nations and environmental groups that worked for years to establish Bears Ears National Monument. In December 2017, when the first Trump administration illegally gutted Bears Ears by 85 percent, Patagonia joined with businesses, conservation groups and Tribal Nations to sue the federal government and protect these sacred lands. It was the first time a company had taken a sitting president to court over public land protection.
We have never before seen a whole-of-government attack on environmental regulation, climate action, public lands and nature like we have in the past year and a half. A few examples: The administration last week dismantled protections from the Endangered Species Act. In April, Congress removed protections from the headwaters of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, opening it to a Chilean mining company. Last summer, Congress attempted to sell off public lands to balance the federal budget. These executive orders continues that onslaught. Every attempt is unpopular and meant for retribution or to enrich themselves or other billionaires.
What was said at today’s White House press conference was a blatant lie. Utahns have repeatedly said they do not want Tribal voices shut out or to see the monuments shrunk and given to developers. The people who hunt, fish, climb, hike and simply love these places span every political party, age and background, making public lands supporters one of the most diverse coalitions in America today.