President Biden will restore full protection to three national monuments shrunk by the previous administration today, which had also opened the sacred lands up for coal and uranium mining as well as oil drilling. Biden will expand Bears Ears and the Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in what is now Utah and restore protections from commercial fishing in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off the New England coast. The decision to restore the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments will also protect the sites’ stunning physical beauty and fossil record, as well as substantial Native American history. (AP, Washington Post $, New York Times $, NPR, E&E News, CNN, Politico Pro $, The Guardian, Reuters, Axios, Wall Street Journal $, KUER, The Hill)