Historic preservationists are fighting a decision by the Bureau of Land Management’s to issue new leases in southeast Utah for oil and gas — including, they say, a wealth of archaeological treasures embedded in the landscapes around Recapture and Montezuma canyons and Alkali Ridge.
None of the controversial public lands set for leasing are in or near the former boundaries of the Bears Ears National Monument, but all are close enough to Hovenweep and Canyon of the Ancients national monuments that the U.S. National Park Service asked its sister agency to pull some parcels off the block.