On Friday, President Joe Biden restored two national monuments in Utah, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, as well as a separate marine conservation area, Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument, off the coast of Massachusetts.
In 2017, former president Donald Trump stripped all three areas of environmental protections by 85 percent in a move decried by local Indigenous groups and environmental advocates.
“I’m proud to announce the protection and expansion of three of our most treasured national monuments,” President Biden said.
