An Urgent Call to Protect Bears Ears

“What ‘The Land Can’t Wait’ means to me is an urgent call to protect and conserve Bears Ears National Monument.”

- Mark Galbraith, VP of Product Development, Osprey

On December 21, we celebrated the Winter Solstice – the longest dark night of the year. Across the Bears Ears landscape of southeastern Utah, celestial vistas glittered overhead as starlight dazzled the land below. 

Protecting the night sky is part of the Resource Management Plan(S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) for the Bears Ears National Monument, which recognizes “Earth to Sky”(S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) conservation principles as defined by the Tribes and Pueblos for whom this landscape is sacred. This year, Bears Ears Partnership proudly supported Bluff, Utah’s designation(S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) as an International Dark Sky Community, and launched our Dark Sky Ambassador(S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) program to educate communities across San Juan County about the night sky as a cultural resource no less valuable to our human heritage than the sandstone canyons below.

As we approach Sunday’s anniversary of the designation of Bears Ears National Monument, we celebrate this historic Resource Management Plan and are eager to continue our work to protect the entire Bears Ears cultural landscape, extending far beyond the National Monument’s 1.36 million acre boundary. 

The Four Corners region is home to some of the most significant and sacred ancestral lands in the country. Bears Ears Partnership has been working for more than a decade to support the Tribal efforts to protect these areas. Our Visit With Respect(S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) program trains Ambassadors to educate the public on 20 guidelines demonstrating how to respect the region’s cultural and ecological resources. This program – celebrating its 10-year anniversary next year – has made tremendous progress mitigating the impacts of increased visitation, and raising awareness about the region’s cultural importance. 

In addition to this educational campaign, Bears Ears Partnership also plays a key role in bringing together Tribal, agency, and community partners in co-managing the resources of the Bears Ears region. The Monument’s Resource Management Plan is a visionary model for land management, combining Traditional Ecological Knowledge and western conservation practices. We amplify Indigenous voices in the management and protection of Ancestral homelands and advocate for recognition of the cultural importance of unprotected public lands within the Four Corners region. 

Bears Ears Partnership is in the midst of our 2025 fundraising challenge. We are raising $150,000 to support our programs, and all donations before December 31st will be matched by a generous donor. No matter where you live, you have the opportunity to support Tribal leadership in determining the future of the entire greater Bears Ears region. These funds will allow us to continue our vital on-the-ground conservation and education efforts to steward and protect the living landscape in and around the greater Bears Ears region. We’re so close to the finish line, and we need your support!

Please help us reach our fundraising goal – donate today(S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre), and share this campaign. 

In this climate of uncertainty, we’ve coined the phrase The Land Can’t Wait to describe our steadfast commitment to stewarding the irreplaceable cultural and natural resources of this region. We know our partnerships are more important than ever, and we are grateful to have the ongoing support of Osprey, and former BEP board member and Osprey Vice President of Product, Mark Galbraith. 

As we celebrate the hard work we’ve accomplished in 2025, we are already gearing up for a busy 2026. We hope you’ll join us in protecting this sacred living landscape, either by donating to our year-end fundraising campaign(S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre), sharing our work, or both. 

Learn more about our work on the Bears Ears Partnership website(S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre), and follow us on Instagram(S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre), Facebook(S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre), BlueSky(S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre), and LinkedIn(S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre).