Utah land rich in dinosaur fossils has regained protection stripped away by former President Donald Trump, easing fears that they would be ravaged by mining and other commercial activity.
"Close to 10 percent of all dinosaurs known in the world are from Utah," said Jim Kirkland, a paleontologist who has explored Utah's Grand Staircase monument area for nearly 50 years. "It's pretty remarkable."At the end of 2017, Trump's administration pulled back borders of three protected areas, two of them in Utah, opening previously safeguarded land to mining and fishing.
He was left to hope that the remains of triceratops and other dinosaurs would not be obliterated in the name of corporate profit. "After the last administration chipped away their protections, today I'm proud to announce the protection and expansion of three of our most treasured national monuments," he said.For paleontologists, few regions in the world come close to the Rocky Mountains, with the dinosaur treasures buried there.
"So many of our duck-billed dinosaurs, like this one, are still covered with the impressions of their skin; you can see their scales," said Joe Sertich, dinosaurs curator at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Sertich believes the competing interests could co-exist, but taking away protected status opens the door to theft, vandalism, and destruction.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Biden to restore 2 Utah national monuments cut by TrumpPresident Joe Biden will restore two sprawling national monuments in Utah that have been at the center of a long-running public lands tug-of-war between presidential administrations, the state’s governor said Thursday. Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, released a statement expressing disappointment in Biden's decision to restore Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments, which were downsized significantly under President Donald Trump. Cox's office said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland informed the governor of Biden’s decision.
Read more »
Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments to be expanded by Biden administration, Utah governor saysThe Biden administration will expand the size of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said on Thursday.
Read more »
Biden to Restore Protections for Three National MonumentsThe move will restore Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante monuments in Southeast Utah to more than 3 million acres and an undersea monument off New England.
Read more »
Biden restores protections stripped by Trump in wild areasPresident Joe Biden on Friday restored environmental protections for two wild Utah expanses linked to America's indigenous history, and also a biodiverse area of the Atlantic, reversing his predecessor Donald Trump's move to open the national monuments to mining and fishing.
Read more »