There are 133 national monuments in the United States. Some are man made, but many are protected natural areas like Bears Ears in Utah. Bears Ears was established by President Obama in 2016. A year later, President Trump ordered a review to reduce the amount of territory protected, though President Biden later restored the original boundaries. The tug of war over Bears Ears highlights what can be a confusing realm of protected lands. McKenzie Long writes about this in This Contested Land: The Storied Past and Uncertain Future of America’s National Monuments.
'This Contested Land' embarks on the confusion around protected lands
