Iacobelli 1

Cameron Iacobelli
Ms. Levesque
Communications
26 January 2017
Bears Ears
Have you ever tried to imagine a world where you could not do your daily activities
because of the government? Well I have, and it sounds painful. Before I convince you it should
not be a national monument, you should learn a little about Bears Ears. Bears Ears are two
landforms that rise above Cedar Mesa in San Juan County, Utah and protects 1,351,849 acres of
public land surrounding the two landforms ("Bears Ears Buttes"). These landforms are now
considered a national monument since President Obama declared it on December 28, 2016
("Bears Ears Is Utah's Newest National Monument!"). Also Bears Ears is recognized as a sacred
place for some Native American tribes. Finally, because of its sacred land if it stays its national
monument status the land will be ruined.
There are many reasons we should unclassify Bears Ears National Monument. One of the
reasons is it will not allow local Native Americans to do their daily activities on the land
("President Obama Designates Bears Ears National Monument"). For instance the Ute tribe,
Navajo nation, Hopi tribe, and Ute Indian tribes will not be able to visit their burial sites on the
land. Because it is a now a national monument, these people cannot visit their burial sites
because it will cost a lot of money to get into the national monument everyday.
Another reason it should not be a national monument is it will attract tourists. Classifying
Bears Ears as a national monument is an invitation for increased tourism. I say this because who

Iacobelli 2

normally wants to visit just a random piece of land? Once it is made a national monument,
people will be attracted to Bears Ears and will ruin all the special features about Bears Ears. It
has petroglyphs, and burial sites. Since it is already a national monument, people will travel
there to explore and adventure. The result will likely be that many people will not know how to
respect the land which will ruin Bears Ears.
My third and final reason why you should be against Bears Ears National Monument
designation is that once it is a national monument, the Native Americans will not be able to take
resources from the land. I know some might say removing resources from the land ruins the land,
but it does not because stuff grows back, and the Native Americans need food and medicines
from the land. Many Native Americans will not be able to recover from a sickness because the
medicine they need from the land will no longer be available.
Many of the people that are for Bears Ears staying a national monument will say making
it a national monument will protect its lands. But it will not. The tourism will ruin the land and
many of the features will not be able to grow back like the medicine. I say this because a lot of
the visitors who visit national monuments do not know how to respect the land, making it so
people will ruin the petroglyphs and many of the other historic creations.
Bears Ears National Monument should not be a national monument because then the
Native Americans will not be able to have daily visits, not be able to collect materials, and
tourism will ruin the land. If I have convinced you that Bears Ears should not be a national
monument then let the government know how you feel about it by emailing your representative.

Iacobelli 3

Works Cited
"Bears Ears Buttes." Bears Ears InterTribal Coalition. Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, n.d.

Web. 26. Jan. 2017.

"Bears Ears Is Utah's Newest National Monument!" Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, 2017. Web. 26 Jan. 2017.
"President Obama Designates Bears Ears National Monument."Fox13now.com. KSTU, 29 Dec.
2016. Web. 26 Jan. 2017