Quietly, Utah officials prepare land exchange in rejuvenated Bears Ears & Grand Staircase-Escalante

Even as Utah’s elected leaders are gearing up to file a lawsuit over the boundaries of the Bears Ears National Monument, state officials are quietly moving to accept that the site’s 1.36-million-acre footprint could be a reality.

Both the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) and the Interior Department confirmed to E&E News last week that work has begun on an exchange for the approximately 135,000 acres of state-owned land inside the monument’s new boundaries.

https://www.eenews.net/articles/utah-interior-prep-land-exchange-in-shadow-of-legal-battle/