Trump shrinks Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah
The move opens millions of acres to mining and energy development and triggers new legal fights over presidential authority under the Antiquities Act.
- On Monday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order reducing the boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, undoing protections established by previous administrations on sacred public lands.
- Trump Interior Secretary Doug Burgum initiated the review to expand U.S. energy production, fulfilling a goal of Utah officials who long argued the state should control its own lands for mining coal and uranium.
- Davina Smith-Idjesa, co-chair of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, called the reduction "heartbreaking," saying the area is a "living cultural site" holding tribal histories, ceremonies, and ancestral footprints.
- The executive action triggers new legal challenges over whether a president has authority under the 1906 Antiquities Act to alter boundaries of existing monuments, a power legally contested between federal and state officials.
- Administration policies aim to tap natural resource wealth across more than 100,000 square miles of federal lands, reversing the Biden-era goal to conserve at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.
160 Articles
160 Articles
Trump shrinks two Utah national monuments to open more land for mining
President Donald Trump has drastically reduced the size of two national monuments in Utah, saying they cover too much land and limit access to critical materials. The president issued two proclamations Monday, shrinking the boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by nearly 3 million acres combined. The move falls under the Antiquities Act, which authorizes presidents to designate national monuments to protect hi…
Trump Dramatically Shrinks Two National Monuments
President Trump on Monday significantly reduced the size of two national monuments in Utah, cutting the amount of protected land that they hold by about 1.5 million acres each. Trump slashed protections for both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante during his first term to free up two million acres for oil drilling and uranium mining. This led environmental groups and Native American tribes to sue, and former President Joe Biden reversed the…
Trump Signs Order Shrinking National Monuments
“President Donald Trump signed an executive order drastically shrinking the size of two national monument areas in Utah on Monday,” Fox News reports. “The order applies to the Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears national monuments, shrinking their total coverage by roughly 90% from 3 million acres to 300,000. The areas were established as federal monuments […]
Trump Guts Two National Monuments 'At the Behest of Polluting Corporations Who Seek to Ravage Them'
"Today’s proclamations are a slap to the face of public lands visitors across the country, as well as the local communities and tribes that have worked for years to protect these special places."
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