Co-management at Bears Ears forges ahead.

The article discusses the ongoing efforts of five tribes and two federal agencies to co-manage Bears Ears National Monument. Despite political backlash and obstacles in Congress, the tribes and agencies have collaborated to create a draft management plan that centers the traditional knowledge and priorities of the tribes. The plan, known as Alternative E, recognizes the spiritual, cultural, and ancestral connections to the landscape and aims to protect Indigenous traditional uses of the monument. However, challenges remain, including funding for tribal governments and the need to educate state officials and the public about the tribes' relationship with the land and their cultural resources. [Extracted from the article]