Bears Ears Partnership (formerly Friends of Cedar Mesa)

What happened

Bears Ears Partnership (BEP) is a nonprofit based in Bluff, Utah. Its site says it was formerly known as Friends of Cedar Mesa, that it is a registered 501(c)(3), and that its EIN is 35-2426283. ProPublica lists that EIN under the name Friends Of Cedar Mesa, with tax exemption issued in December 2012.

BEP says its mission is to "cultivate durable and effective partnerships to protect the cultural and ecological resources of the Bears Ears region." It lists five focus areas: Indigenous connections, conservation, stewardship, education and research. It operates the Bears Ears Education Center, which it calls the only visitor center in the region, and a crew program called Canyon Country Youth Corps that does trail, watershed and habitat work.

BEP does not claim to hold or return land. Its own text says it supports Indigenous collaborative management through technical expertise, local knowledge and visitation to cultural sites. Its staff and board pages list Carleton Bowekaty as senior policy director and Joe Neuhof as executive director. The pages do not say whether the leadership is Native-led.

BEP's news page lists a post titled "What Comes After Bears Ears Monument Reduction," dated July 31, 2026.

Good to know. An allied conservation group that holds and returns no land. Its legal name is Friends of Cedar Mesa, which is the name to use for donor-advised fund gifts.

Summarized with AI assistance from 5 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error