President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that drastically reduces the size of two national monument areas in Utah, the Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears, by approximately 90%. The move consolidates the two monuments from 3 million acres to 300,000 acres, removing federal protections that previously prohibited fossil fuel extraction and mining.
Trump stated during the signing ceremony that the land was being returned to the people. Utah Governor Spencer Cox, who attended the event, supported the decision, arguing that the original monument designations were excessively large and violated the Antiquities Act's intent to protect the smallest possible area necessary for conservation.
The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was established by President Bill Clinton in 1996, and Bears Ears National Monument was designated by President Barack Obama in 2016. Both areas contain significant deposits of coal and uranium, which the original protections had limited access to.
However, the decision has drawn criticism from local Native American groups. Davina Smith-Idjesa, co-chair of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, emphasized that Bears Ears is a living cultural site for the Navajo Nation, holding historical and ceremonial significance, as well as ancestral knowledge of traditional foods and medicines. Protections for national monuments extend to the surrounding landscapes, affecting more than just the directly designated acreage.
This action aligns with an broader push by Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to increase domestic energy production, including efforts to open federal lands in Alaska for mining and oil drilling. Discussions about national parks have also touched upon bipartisan initiatives like 'America the Beautiful,' which aims to modernize national parks and invest in their preservation ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary.