The national monument in Bears Ears was declared in December 2016 by then US President Barack Obama, who set aside an estimated area of 1.35 million acres of federal land in southeastern Utah. This declaration was for the purpose of protecting an area with immense cultural heritage value for the indigenous peoples. The decision came after decades of efforts by tribal communities, conservationists, and other advocates to secure federal protection for the region, which remains sacred to several Indigenous tribes. Obama invoked the Antiquities Act of 1906 to create the monument, thus placing management responsibility with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the US Forest Service.
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