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Opinion Just one voice of many on Bears Ears

December 15, 2017 at 7:11 p.m. EST
The Bear Ears Buttes, namesake to the Bear Ears National Monument, are seen in Cedar Mesa, Utah. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)

Regarding the Dec. 9 Politics & the Nation article "Uranium firm sought Bears Ears cut":

There may be an impression that my company played a significant role in the decision to reduce the size of Bears Ears National Monument. That is not the case. Indeed, we are not opposed to the creation of national monuments, including Bears Ears, and support increased protection of areas that contain unique cultural, scientific and environmental resources.

On May 11, the Interior Department solicited public comments on the effects the designation of Bears Ears may have on land beyond the monument’s boundaries. We submitted a two-page comment, describing how it might affect two of our operations located near the monument. Ours was one of about 2.8 million comments. On advice from the local Bureau of Land Management office, we had a 30-minute meeting with Interior Department officials to discuss many issues, including Bears Ears’s boundaries near our operations.

We were only one voice among many. We support a consensus approach to public-lands policy that protects areas with special scientific, environmental and scenic resources; allows Native Americans to manage and protect valuable cultural and religious sites; and allows us to operate our facilities in a responsible manner.

Mark Chalmers, Lakewood, Colo.

The writer is president of Energy Fuels Inc.