Interior leader hears from public on monument proposal
Source: Associated Press
Interior leader hears from public on monument proposal
Updated 11:41 pm, Saturday, July 16, 2016
BLUFF, Utah (AP) — U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell heard emotional statements Saturday from both sides of a divisive proposal to create a national monument at a sacred Native American site.
Jewell's 3 ½-hour meeting in the town of Bluff capped off a four-day research trip to the state as a coalition of tribes urges President Barack Obama to turn 1.9 million acres around the twin Bears Ears buttes into a national monument.
The tribes and environmental groups say the area needs strong protections from threats of looting and damage from off-highway vehicles.
Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye told Jewell and other Interior Department officials at the meeting that preserving the site is important to protecting Native American culture and history, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
"Your action will be one that will be remembered by our people for centuries," he said.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Interior-Secretary-to-hear-from-public-about-8381967.php
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