1. United States
2. Mo.
3. Letter

"Ask yourself a simple question. If Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante were truly locked away from the public, why were hunters, hikers, climbers, and campers using them every single day? I know the answer. Because they were never closed. I was there myself — four to eight weeks every spring in that canyon country. Open to anyone willing to make the drive. What monument designation protected was not the land from people. It was the land from mining equipment. On July 13, 2026 that protection ended. Three million acres. One signature. Copper. Uranium. Oil. The proclamation names the minerals explicitly. That is the point. The people who have called this land sacred for thousands of years were not asked. The people who built businesses around hiking, climbing, and recreation were not asked. The false story about locked-up land was told loudly enough and long enough that the extraction could begin quietly. Don't let it go unanswered. Restore protections for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante."