According to The New York Times, emails sent by Utah Senator Orrin Hatch show oil extraction was central in the decision to shrink the Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah last year, despite fierce opposition from Native Americans and environmentalists. One of the emails sent by Senator Hatch’s office to the Interior Department reads, “The new boundary depicted on the map would resolve all known mineral conflicts … within the Bears Ears.” This email directly contradicts Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s statements last year in which he claimed, “Bears Ears isn’t really about oil and gas.”