Tribes Get Say in Land Management But Worry About Trump

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Native Americans who have long bemoaned their lack of participation in federal land decisions scored a victory when President Barack Obama designated a new national monument in southern Utah.

That's because the designation gives five tribes an opportunity to weigh in on the management of their ancestral home. But federal bureaucrats working under President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet appointees will still have the final say on all land decisions.

And some tribal officials are concerned that the shared-management arrangement could quickly sour if the incoming administration charts a different course for the 1.35-million acre Bears Ears National Monument.

Davis Filfred is a Navajo lawmaker who hopes to help oversee the monument. He says the tribes are trying to stay hopeful that their commission will have a legitimate voice.