The monument has divided people in Blanding, Bluff and other Utah towns that skirt its border, and some members of families that are split on the issue have simply stopped speaking to each other.
Signs reading "#rescindbearsears" stretch across gas stations and front lawns, which are strategically avoided by people who have taken to wearing pro-monument T-shirts.

— The New York Times May 14, 2017
The monument is in San Juan County—a county of 8,000-square-miles with a sparse population of 16,895.
The federal government owns about 60% of the land in the county, and "Native Americans, the grandchildren of white settlers, corporations, environmentalists, the federal government" "jockey[..] to control it and its history".
The monument's year 2016 territory makes up about 30% of the county's area.

In a May 2017 interview in The New York Times 52-year-old James Adakai, "whose Navajo ancestors lived and hunted here for generations" described how, "We fought, we won the century-year-old fight: the monument.
And now we're up for another fight. ...
And everybody is against us.
The Utah congressional delegation, the governor, the State Legislature, the county.
They have a different plan".
Phil Lyman, whose great-grandfather arrived in Bears Ears in 1879, criticized the designation as a "land grab", "equating the monument designation to grand theft".
Lyman was concerned the Monument designation would "lock him and his neighbors out of their own backyards".

The Salt Lake Tribune reported that reactions to the monument's designation ranged "from scathing to celebratory" within the state.
The designation was praised by the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition (BEITC) of Native Americans and environmentalists who had led the campaign to protect the land.
Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye wrote that the president's decision will "protect this land as a national monument for future generations of Navajo people and for all Americans", while collaborative land management provisions "strengthened the relationship between our Navajo and American nations."
Arizona state Representative Eric Descheenie, a member of the Navajo Nation, said "At the end of the day, there's only a certain place in this entire world, on earth, where we as indigenous peoples belong.
And to be able to secure that, you can't put any money value on it."
The establishment of the monument was also praised by the Mormon Environmental Stewardship Alliance.

Republican leaders reacted to the designation of the monument with disappointment.
Some researchers and observers said that it was possible that president-elect Donald Trump or other Republicans might make an attempt to withdraw the designation and abolish the monument, though there is no clear legal mechanism for the president to do so unilaterally.
Utah's Republican governor, Gary Herbert, said that he was "more than disappointed" and "deeply disturbed" by President Obama's unilateral decision.
Congressman Jason Chaffetz reacted similarly.
Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, also a Republican, stated that "By significantly restricting access to a large portion of public lands in Utah, the President weakens land management capabilities and fails to protect those the Antiquities Act intended to benefit", and announced that he planned a lawsuit regarding the issue.
A lawsuit against the FBI and BLM for its "heavy-handed and overzealous" looting raid in 2009, was rejected in February 2017 but "remains a point of contention for people in [Blanding], many of whom are also frustrated by the creation of the nearby Bears Ears National Monument."
Utah politicians, including Senator Mike Lee (R), as well as ranchers and business groups, strongly opposed the monument.
The monument has divided people in Blanding, Bluff and other Utah towns that skirt its border, and some members of families that are split on the issue have simply stopped speaking to each other. Signs reading "#rescindbearsears" stretch across gas stations and front lawns, which are strategically avoided by people who have taken to wearing pro-monument T-shirts.
— The New York Times May 14, 2017
The monument is in San Juan County—a county of 8,000-square-miles with a sparse population of 16,895. The federal government owns about 60% of the land in the county, and "Native Americans, the grandchildren of white settlers, corporations, environmentalists, the federal government" "jockey[..] to control it and its history". The monument's year 2016 territory makes up about 30% of the county's area.
In a May 2017 interview in The New York Times 52-year-old James Adakai, "whose Navajo ancestors lived and hunted here for generations" described how, "We fought, we won the century-year-old fight: the monument. And now we're up for another fight. ... And everybody is against us. The Utah congressional delegation, the governor, the State Legislature, the county. They have a different plan". Phil Lyman, whose great-grandfather arrived in Bears Ears in 1879, criticized the designation as a "land grab", "equating the monument designation to grand theft". Lyman was concerned the Monument designation would "lock him and his neighbors out of their own backyards".
The Salt Lake Tribune reported that reactions to the monument's designation ranged "from scathing to celebratory" within the state. The designation was praised by the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition (BEITC) of Native Americans and environmentalists who had led the campaign to protect the land. Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye wrote that the president's decision will "protect this land as a national monument for future generations of Navajo people and for all Americans", while collaborative land management provisions "strengthened the relationship between our Navajo and American nations." Arizona state Representative Eric Descheenie, a member of the Navajo Nation, said "At the end of the day, there's only a certain place in this entire world, on earth, where we as indigenous peoples belong. And to be able to secure that, you can't put any money value on it." The establishment of the monument was also praised by the Mormon Environmental Stewardship Alliance.
Republican leaders reacted to the designation of the monument with disappointment. Some researchers and observers said that it was possible that president-elect Donald Trump or other Republicans might make an attempt to withdraw the designation and abolish the monument, though there is no clear legal mechanism for the president to do so unilaterally. Utah's Republican governor, Gary Herbert, said that he was "more than disappointed" and "deeply disturbed" by President Obama's unilateral decision. Congressman Jason Chaffetz reacted similarly. Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, also a Republican, stated that "By significantly restricting access to a large portion of public lands in Utah, the President weakens land management capabilities and fails to protect those the Antiquities Act intended to benefit", and announced that he planned a lawsuit regarding the issue. A lawsuit against the FBI and BLM for its "heavy-handed and overzealous" looting raid in 2009, was rejected in February 2017 but "remains a point of contention for people in [Blanding], many of whom are also frustrated by the creation of the nearby Bears Ears National Monument." Utah politicians, including Senator Mike Lee (R), as well as ranchers and business groups, strongly opposed the monument.
Bears Ears National Monument