(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) While Utah's Republican leaders are united in opposing President Joe Biden using the Antiquities Act to once again expand the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, residents are deeply divided over the expected action. The polarization follows a pattern that has played out many times in history as presidents use the "superpower" of designating monuments under the 1906 Antiquities Act.
Zak is the southeast Utah reporter for The Tribune. He has been writing from Bluff, Utah, since 2015 and is the author of Confluence: Navigating the Personal & Political On Rivers of the New West. His second book, which will cover the decline of Lake Powell, is forthcoming from Torrey House Press in 2024.