Maps of the Bears Ears National Monument can be seen here [1][2], to give an idea as to what's being talked about.<p>It includes the area between the current eastern boundary of Canyonlands NP "below the rim" of the mesas like Hatch Point Mesa and Harts Point Mesa.<p>In this 2014 article from Moab Sun News [3], it is mentioned that oil and gas surveys are being done in Harts Point (up on the mesa; outside of Bears Ears NM and not visible from "below the rim"); as well as in Lockhart Basin, the area sandwiched between the Mesa and Canyonlands (and thus protected by the new Bears Ears National Monument).<p>A quote from the article:<p><i>Walt Dabney, Moab resident, and retired superintendent of Canyonlands National Park (CNP), said that he is "very concerned," about any possible development taking place below the rim in the Canyonlands Basin. While superintendent of CNP, he made a formal objection to the BLM, saying that there shouldn't be any leases down in the basin because of the, "certainty of compromising the national park qualities of Canyonlands National Park."<p>"When you stand on the rim, there is an assumption by anyone who looks into that basin, that they are looking into the park. "What they are really looking at is an illogical, political compromise that resulted in protecting only a portion of the basin. Any development placed in there will significantly diminish the quality of the park."</i><p>On the map, this is the northwesternmost protrusion of Bears Ears NM; a relatively small area. It includes significant portions of land further south (beyond the southern boundary of Canyonlands NP), including the northern rim of Goosenecks, all of the Valley of the Gods, the Moki Dugway, the roads leading to Natural Bridges and Hite Crossing, all of the Dark Canyon Wilderness, half of the Abajo Mountains, and the like, forming a continuous protected area from the existing patchwork of protected land and adjacent BLM-or-private land that looks visually identical yet hasn't enjoyed the same protections. And remarkably, it does so in a way to protect viewsheds.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.grandcanyontrust.org/sites/default/files/maps/resources/uw_BearsEars_Proclamation_8.5x11.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.grandcanyontrust.org/sites/default/files/maps/res...</a>
[2] <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Bears-ears-map.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Bears-ea...</a>
[3] <a href="http://www.moabsunnews.com/news/article_7b85d6f0-3e77-11e4-aac7-001a4bcf6878.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.moabsunnews.com/news/article_7b85d6f0-3e77-11e4-a...</a>