A place we watch

Bears Ears National Monument

Timing

Nothing is open on this one today. It is a place the Corps keeps an eye on, so we see the paperwork the day it lands.

What is worth photographing here

In the red rock canyons now cut out of the monument, outside the Shash Jaa and Indian Creek units, photograph the cliff dwellings, granaries and rock art as they stand today, undisturbed. Share no coordinates.

Why we watch it

Sacred to five tribal nations for thousands of years, Bears Ears catalyzed a national movement for Indigenous-led conservation. On July 13, 2026 a presidential proclamation cut the monument by roughly 91 percent, from 1.36 million acres down to about 121,096 acres, and disbanded the five-tribe Bears Ears Commission that co-managed it. About 1.

How to record it so it counts

01Don’t touch, move, collect or disturb anything. Ever.
02Photograph what you see from where you stand. Don’t dig, brush away or reposition.
03Don’t post these photographs anywhere. Submit them here only; they go into a sealed record.
04Write down what you saw and, if you know, what it is.

What would count

A photograph in the sealed record, with the location held under the confidentiality the law provides.
Nothing public. The public card will say only that a sensitive observation exists.

All of it, with the phone settings, in the field guide

Nothing to answer yet

Nobody is asking you to go here today. We watch this place so that the day a decision opens on it, the people who already know it hear the same week. If you are out here anyway, what you photograph now is worth more later than anything taken after the paperwork lands.

Before you go

Public land only. Plenty of land inside a national forest or park boundary is privately owned, and that is not yours to walk on. A gate or a closure sign means stop. Check the rules for the specific place you are going, because they differ.
Don’t touch survey stakes, flagging, equipment or anything a crew left. Photograph it; leave it.
Don’t approach crews, contractors or agency staff about the project. Don’t interfere with any operation.
Wildlife at a distance. No drones in wilderness or anywhere they’re prohibited. Stay off closed roads and trails.
If you’re not sure, don’t. Weather, terrain, water, fire and people are your call, and yours alone.

More Than Just Parks doesn’t direct where you go or what you do. Terms.