President Donald Trump justified reducing Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument by over 1.2 million acres by claiming hikers, hunters, and anglers were locked out.
“You can’t go hunting, you can’t go fishing, you can’t do anything,” Trump said.
However, newly obtained government documents by The New York Times revealed a different reality.
Internal briefing memos from Utah’s Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office, sent to Interior Department officials in June, confirm “current recreational access” existed at the site, including off-road vehicle routes offering “motorized access deep into the area” and a 40-mile backcountry loop used by backpackers.
Records also show Utah allows hunting and fishing with proper licenses.
Experts expressed shock at the contradiction.
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance legal director Steve Bloch accused Trump of “lying or spreading misinformation.”
“I was shaking my head. I was like, ‘I wonder if he’s ever been here to this region, because if he knew this region, he would find out this place is totally accessible,” Indigenous tour leader Louis Williams said.
Bears Ears was designated a national monument in 2016 by former President Barack Obama.
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