Trump Shrinks Utah Monuments to 302,600 Acres

President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Monday that reduced the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in southern Utah to a combined 302,600 acres. This action significantly shrinks the protected public lands from over 3 million acres, impacting areas known for their remote landscapes and archaeological sites. The reductions are more extensive than those made in December 2017, when Bears Ears was cut by 85 percent and Grand Staircase-Escalante was reduced by nearly half.

These new executive orders, which will take effect in 60 days, aim to open the lands for extraction industries. The proclamations state that the shrinking of boundaries aligns with the administration's goals for public lands. However, the orders also disband and terminate the inter-tribal working group for Bears Ears, which had been leading co-stewardship efforts and represented a novel approach to monument management. Tribal officials reported that they were not consulted regarding this decision.

During the signing ceremony, President Trump claimed that new restrictions made it virtually impossible to hunt, fish, or walk on the monuments, a statement that contradicts the accessibility of the areas for such activities. The stated purpose of the reduction, according to the orders, is to return power to local communities. This move reverses protections previously reinstated by President Joe Biden, who had restored the original boundaries of the monuments after the 2017 reductions.