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Push to create Utah monument marks latest Western land fight

This June 22, 2016, photo, the "House on Fire" ruins are shown in Mule Canyon, near Blanding, Utah. These Anasazi ruins are found along a canyon hiking path in a dry river bed. They are one of an estimated 100,000 archaeological sites within a 1.9-million acre area of Utah's red rock country that a coalition of American Indian tribes and environmentalists want President Barack Obama to designate as a national monument to ensure protections of lands considered sacred. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
This June 22, 2016, photo, the "House on Fire" ruins are shown in Mule Canyon, near Blanding, Utah. These Anasazi ruins are found along a canyon hiking path in a dry river bed. They are one of an estimated 100,000 archaeological sites within a 1.9-million acre area of Utah's red rock country that a coalition of American Indian tribes and environmentalists want President Barack Obama to designate as a national monument to ensure protections of lands considered sacred. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) This June 22, 2016, photo, the "House on Fire" ruins are shown in Mule Canyon, near Blanding, Utah. These Anasazi ruins are found along a canyon hiking path in a dry river bed. They are one of an estimated 100,000 archaeological sites within a 1.9-million acre area of Utah's red rock country that a coalition of American Indian tribes and environmentalists want President Barack Obama to designate as a national monument to ensure protections of lands considered sacred. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

By Associated Press 5 min read

BLANDING, Utah (AP) – Laminated sheets of paper held in place by rocks rest inside ancient cliff dwellings nestled underneath a spectacular red rock overhang in southeastern Utah.

“Don’t erase the traces of America’s past,” the signs read. “Please do not enter interior rooms.”

The weathered signs and a similar warning at the trailhead are the only protections in place for these easily accessible ruins along a canyon hiking path.

The cliff dwellings are part of an estimated 100,000 archaeological sites within a 1.9 million-acre area that a coalition of American Indian tribes wants President Barack Obama to designate a national monument to ensure protections for lands considered sacred.

U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell is visiting the area this week to meet with proponents and opponents – the latest indication the Obama administration is giving serious consideration to the “Bears Ears” monument proposal.