Biden restores Bears Ears, other monuments cut by Trump

By MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has restored two sprawling national monuments in Utah, reversing a decision by President Donald Trump that had opened some lands for mining and development. Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments encompass more than 3.2 million acres. They include red-rock lands sacred to Native Americans and home to ancient cliff dwellings and petroglyphs. Biden on Friday also restored protections at a marine conservation area off the New England coast that has been used for commercial fishing under an order by Trump. Trump had made a rule change to allow commercial fishing in a nearly 5,000-square-mile area, an action that was heralded by fishing groups but derided by environmentalists.