Dear Friend,

Happy spring! I hope you are preparing to get out and enjoy some national parks as you plan your travels over the coming months. For some inspiration about our extraordinary landscape in the Southwest, here are a few brief updates from the region. And check out the P.S. at the bottom for some helpful tips about reservations and scheduling.

Long Awaited Bears Ears Draft Management Plan Released

The draft management plan for Bears Ears National Monument in southeast Utah is the result of a two-year collaboration among the five Tribes of the Bears Ears Commission – Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Zuni Tribe, Hopi Tribe and the Navajo Nation – along with federal partners at the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. NPCA supported the Tribes in developing their own vision for managing Bears Ears, and the release of the draft plan earlier this month is a historic milestone for a new approach to public land management.

NPCA has advocated for protection of the Bears Ears Landscape for many years and strongly supports President Biden’s call for increased Tribal involvement in managing of public lands. Learn more about how this plan uses a new land management framework that integrates traditional Tribal wisdom into the protection of the extraordinary landscape, biodiversity and sacred cultural sites within Bears Ears National Monument.

Find the draft plan and a schedule of public meetings on the bureau’s website and stay tuned for opportunities to make your voice heard to submit your comments before the 90-day comment period closes on June 11.

Welcoming America’s Newest National Park Site in Colorado

After several years of activity and interim steps, the Amache National Historic Site, near Granada in southeastern Colorado, is now officially the newest unit of the National Park System. Once the site got past a couple of administrative thresholds, Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland made the formal announcement on February 15. One of 10 Japanese incarceration camps during World War II, Amache is a painful but important reminder about our history, and the site and its stories will now be preserved and shared with the public in perpetuity.

Along with community partners and dignitaries from Congress and the Department of Interior, NPCA will be joining the official ribbon cutting ceremony at Amache on May 17 to celebrate the event. The ceremony kicks off this year’s three-day annual pilgrimage at the site with survivors and descendants.

Protecting the Greater Grand Canyon Landscape from Mining Threats

The Pinyon Plain Uranium Mine, located within the new Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni - Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, continues to pose serious threats to groundwater and human health in the Grand Canyon. Between mining operations near the primary water source for the Havasupai Tribe, proposed hazardous ore transport through the Navajo Nation, and the mill site near the White Mesa Ute community in Utah, the mine could have tremendous impacts throughout northern Arizona and southern Utah. NPCA supports the Tribes in calling for closing this mine within the new monument and next door to one of our most iconic national parks.

Meanwhile, NPCA is exploring legal options to protect the monument from a legal challenge by the Arizona State Senate seeking to nullify the establishment of the monument under the Antiquities Act.

New Protection for Chaco

NPCA is thrilled about a 20-year moratorium on new oil and gas leases on state lands surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park. New Mexico State Land Commissioner, Stephanie Garcia Richard, announced the moratorium on December 14, following a similar decision in June on federal lands within the 10-mile protection zone. This adds 70,000 acres for a total of over 400,000 acres of additional protection in this unique cultural landscape, which holds numerous archeological and sacred sites connected to the park. We celebrate this important decision along with Pueblo and Tribal Leadership and other conservation groups.

Enjoy this beautiful season in the parks,

Ernie Atencio
Southwest Regional Director

P.S. Have any national park trips planned for this spring and summer? Watch NPCA’s informative video and visit our “Know Before You Go” webpage for more information on timed-entry reservations at national parks like Rocky Mountain, Arches and Zion. Also check the National Park Service's Free Entrance Days for 2024!