SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Utah’s Republican governor and attorney general said Monday the state will sue if President Barack Obama names a new national monument in Utah.
Attorney General Sean Reyes, Gov. Gary Herbert and all six members of Utah’s GOP congressional delegation also vowed at a Monday press conference to push for Congress to pass a law limiting the president’s authority to declare monuments.
The press conference at the state Capitol comes as Utah officials last week said they feared Obama will use the last days of his administration to name a monument around Utah’s Bears Ears area.
A coalition of tribes says the sacred Native American site needs more protection because it’s under threat from looting, damage and ATVs. They’ve asked Obama to designate a 1.9 million-acre monument.
Republicans and southern Utah elected officials say the monument would be overly broad and close off access.
Members from the Navajo and Ute nations held their own press conference Monday, urging Obama to step in, The Salt Lake Tribune reported (https://bit.ly/2i8P7t6 ).
“This land should be protected. It is beyond due,” said Davis Filfred, a member of the Navajo Nation Council. “Our culture, our heritage, our language, everything is there within the cliff dwellings.”
Obama has not said if he will name a monument, but he sent Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to tour the area this summer and hold a public meeting. Both are signals that the administration is considering the proposal.
The Interior Department declined to comment Monday on the threat of a lawsuit.
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