Conservationist buys Bears Ears land for $2.5 million

Conservationist and millionaire Jennifer Speers has paid $2.5 million for 640 acres (2,589,990 sq. meters) of land within Bears Ears National Monument. The Deseret News reports (http://bit.ly/2r2EAHQ ) Speers paid about $1.5 million above the starting bid Wednesday for a spot called the Needles Outpost. The outpost was on property owned by the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, which put it up at auction for a minimum bid of $1.03 million. Speers’ real estate agent, Tom Shellenberger, says Speers plans to hold onto the land as is. The area includes an old landing strip, a commercial campground, convenience store and the only gas station around for about 45 miles.