February 26, 2025: An interactive map of the RMP was developed and published to the ePlanning site. Visit the Maps tab to access the BENM ROD/RMP Interactive Map. Please note: The map is experiencing projection issues and the planning area may project incorrectly upon first loading. To fix the issue, toggle the BENM Planning Area layer on and off in the Layers tab.
January 14, 2025: The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service released the agency specific Record of Decisions for the Approved Resource Management Plan for Bears Ears National Monument. A notice of Availability published in the January 16, 2025 Federal Register. The agency specific Record of Decisions and Approved Resource Management Plan and associated GIS data are available under the Documents tab. The Protest Resolution Report can be viewed on the BLM's website. The Department of Interior issued a determination on the Governor's Consistency Review appeal; the determination and letters associated with the Governor's Consistency Review process can be viewed under the Documents tab.
October 10, 2024: GIS data for the Proposed Plan is available under the Documents tab for the Proposed RMP/Final EIS. The file name was updated on October 17 to include GIS data in the title to better identify.
October 3, 2024: The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service issued the Proposed Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for the Bears Ears National Monument. A Notice of Availability will publish in tomorrow's Federal Register to begin a 30-day protest period and a 60-day Governor's Consistency Review. The protest period ends November 4, 2024. Instructions for filing a protest area available under the Documents tab and at BLMs
Filing a Plan Protest website.
May 5, 2024: Two virtual public meetings have been held during the public comment period. Links to watch the recorded meetings are available below:
April 29, 2024: Posters and handout materials from the in-person public meetings are available under the Documents tab.
March 18, 2024: The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service have announced five in-person and two virtual public meetings, which will provide forums for the public to learn more about the Bear Ears National Monument Draft Resource Management Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The BLM and Forest Service will host seven public meetings. During the open houses, the agencies will provide a brief presentation twice (once at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.). Dates, times, and locations of the meetings are:
- Virtual Meeting on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. MDT
Register to attend on Zoom.
- Salt Lake City, UT open house on Thursday, April 18, 2024, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. MDT
Marriot – University Park, 480 S Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT, 84108
- Blanding, UT open house on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. MDT
Utah State University Blanding, 576 West 200 South, Blanding, UT, 84511
- Virtual Meeting on Thursday, May 2, 2024, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. MDT
Register to attend on Zoom.
- Twin Arrows, AZ open house on Monday, May 6, 2024 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. MST
Twin Arrows Casino Resort, 22181 Resort Boulevard, Twin Arrows, AZ, 86004
- Albuquerque, NM open house on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. MDT
ABQ Marriott Courtyard, 5151 Journal Center Boulevard., Albuquerque, NM, 87109
- Monument Valley, UT open house on Thursday, May 16, 2024, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. MDT
Monument Valley High School, US State Highway #163, Monument Valley, UT, 84536
March 13, 2024: An interactive map was developed and published to the ePlanning site. Visit the Maps tab to access the BENM Draft RMP/EIS Interactive Map. Please note: The map is experiencing projection issues and the planning area may project incorrectly upon first loading. To fix the issue, toggle the BENM Planning Area Draft layer on and off in the Layers tab. Thank you for your patience while we remedy this issue.
March 8, 2024: The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Department
of Agriculture Forest Service opened the public comment period for the Draft Resource
Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement. The public comment
period on the Draft Resource Management Plan, Environmental Impact Statement, related
proposed recreational shooting closures, and proposed Areas of Critical Environmental
Concern closes on June 11, 2024.
The BLM and USDA Forest Service intend to hold seven
open-house style public meetings with opportunities to speak with resource
specialists, including two virtual meetings. Logistics of those meetings will
be announced on the BLM National NEPA Register at least 15 days in advance.
Interested parties may submit comments through the
“Participate Now” function on the BLM National NEPA Register or mail input to
ATTN: Monument Planning, BLM Monticello Field Office, 365 North Main,
Monticello, UT 84535.
Please visit the Documents tab
to access and download the Draft Resource Management Plan/Environmental Impact
Statement. For persons unable to download the digital materials on this
website, a hard copy of the documents will be available for
review at the Monticello Field Office (address below).
Before including an
address, phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable
information in any comments, be aware that the entire comment — including
personal identifying information — may be made publicly available at any time.
Requests to withhold personal identifying information from public review can be
submitted, but the BLM cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.
August 30, 2022: The Notice of Intent to prepare a new resource management plan for Bears Ears National Monument published in the Federal Register on August 30, 2022, officially started the planning process.
Two virtual public scoping meetings were held during the public scoping period. Links to watch on Youtube are available below:
• Sept. 21, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PygjS297TuU&t=184s
• Oct. 5, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruFSYnFszC4
December 13, 2022: The final public scoping report was uploaded to the documents section of this site. The scoping report summarizes issues identified in the comments submitted during the scoping period which ended on October 31, 2022.
The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service are working closely with the Bears Ears Commission on stewardship of the monument.
If you have question about the planning process for Bears Ears National Monument, please contact [email protected] or by calling 435-587-1500.
