White House touts Bears Ears National Monument as conservation accomplishment


President Joe Biden and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland participate in a signing ceremony to restore and protect the Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts monuments on October 8. The White House touted the protections as part of its conservation efforts on Monday. File Photo by Shawn Thew/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 20 (UPI) -- The White House highlighted restored protections for national parks, including the controversial Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments in Utah as conservation accomplishments in an update on Monday of its America the Beautiful Initiative.

The initiative, announced in May, outlined work the federal government was doing collaboratively with local and state agencies to conserve and restore the lands, waters and wildlife.

President Joe Biden preserved 1.36 million acres in the Bear Ears monument and 1.87 million in Grand Staircase-Escalante in October through an executive order. Former President Donald Trump had reversed an order from former President Barack Obama that protected most of those monuments.

Biden's move earned praise from local Native American groups and conservationists but scorn from state officials, who said the land use should have been negotiated through legislation and included more of their concerns.

The White House said the administration also stopped oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; commenced the process to reinstate protection of the Tongass National Forest under the Roadless Rule and proclaimed the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area.

It also touted the reinstatement process to protect Bristol Bay and its salmon fishery industry and kicked off public processes to consider further protection for the Boundary Waters in Minnesota and culturally significant Chaco Canyon in New Mexico.

The White House said the newly passed infrastructure law is also playing a part in conservation efforts.

"The new law provides the largest investment in the resilience of physical and natural systems in American history and will help communities be more prepared for drought and wildfire; address the legacy of pollution from orphan wells and abandoned mines; invest in clean drinking water; fund watershed rehabilitation and flood prevention projects; and improve coastal resilience efforts," the White House said.