Trump shrinks two Utah national monuments by more than 90%

Trump shrinks two Utah national monuments by more than 90%

President Donald Trump on Monday signed executive orders drastically reducing the size of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in southern Utah. The move strips protections from more than 90% of the combined land, reducing the total area from more than 3.2 million acres — an area nearly the size of Connecticut — to less than 303,000 acres.

The reductions are more severe than those Trump implemented during his first term. In 2017, he had left Grand Staircase-Escalante at 1 million acres and Bears Ears at 213,000 acres. Those protections were later restored in 2021 by President Joe Biden.

According to U.S. Government statistics, the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has been reduced from around 1.87 million acres to approximately 181,500 acres. Bears Ears National Monument has been cut from about 1.36 million acres to approximately 121,100 acres.

At a signing event at the White House, Trump characterized the original designations as a massive land grab and asserted that "They took the land from the people quite honestly... We're giving it back."

Resource Development and Political Conflict

The monuments contain scenic canyons, natural arches, petroglyphs and ancient cliff dwellings. However, the land also holds uranium and coal deposits. State officials have long sought to make these resources available for development. The move aligns with a 2025 directive from Trump to identify public lands in the West for expanded mining and drilling.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who attended the signing, called the move a big day for Utah. Cox argued that the monuments did not align with the Antiquities Act of 1906, stating "these monument designations are supposed to be the smallest area possible to protect the antiquities."

But the economic viability of such extraction is debated. The Utah Department of Natural Resources has stated there is very little energy potential within Bears Ears. Additionally, while Grand Staircase-Escalante contains large coal reserves, no company attempted to mine them during Trump's first term because the process was not considered profitable enough. Uranium remains a more realistic target for industry; one mine near the monument has already reopened, and a uranium firm lobbied for the 2017 cuts.

Impact on Tribal Nations and Conservation

The latest order disbands the commission of five tribal nations, the Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, Ute Mountain Ute, and Uintah-Ouray Ute, that co-managed Bears Ears. This monument was the first ever created at the request of tribal nations, serving as a living cultural site for ceremonial and burial sites and ancestral villages.

Davina Smith-Idjesa, co-chair of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition and a citizen of the Navajo Nation, called the decision heartbreaking. She accused federal officials of sidestepping their legal responsibility to consult with impacted tribal nations.

Conservation groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity, warned that the cuts endanger more than 1.2 million acres of big-game migration corridors. They further argued that rural gateway towns relying on tourism could lose visitor spending and outfitter jobs.

Legal and Factual Disputes

The administration's claims regarding land access have been contested. Trump asserted on Monday that people are virtually unable to hunt, fish, or walk on the monuments. Steve Bloch, legal director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, called this claim false, noting that camping, fishing, and hunting remain permitted under federal and state regulations.

Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico described the action as another chapter in this administration’s war on the West and accused Trump of turning the Antiquities Act on its head.

The reductions are expected to revive legal battles. In 2017, a lawsuit argued that presidents lack the authority to rescind a predecessor's monument. While the U.S. Supreme Court turned back a separate attempt by Utah officials to wrest control of public lands from the federal government last year, a federal appeals court revived a related Utah case last month, leaving the core constitutional question unresolved.