Oppose HR 5780, the 'Public Lands Initiative' and Create the Bears Ears National Monument

HR 5780, the so-called Public Lands Initiative, introduced in July 2016 by Reps Bishop and Chaffetz of Utah, would open traditional and reservation Ute lands to fossil fuel exploration, and remove control of these lands from the Ute Nation, for no reason other than the profits of the energy companies seeking to exploit them. Sen. Jim Dabakis (D-Salt Lake City), calls the PLI "a flawed, political, one-sided, fossil fuel lobby dream piece of legislation." Besides the outright theft of Ute land, the PLI would endanger the fragile areas of the proposed Bears Ears National Monument, as well as opening Recapture Canyon, another area with many sacred Native American sites, to motorized vehicles. We are asking President Obama to promise a veto of the PLI, and to create Bears Ears Monument.