National Monuments Reduced
Trump Reduces Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante Monuments; Conservation Groups Plan Legal Challenge
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President Donald Trump signed an executive order shrinking Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah, opening previously protected land to potential drilling, mining, and other development, according to Bloomberg Law. The signing was attended by representatives of Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Sen. Mike Lee, Rep. Celeste Maloy, and Rep. Mike Schultz, according to KSL News Radio.
This is not the first time Trump has acted on these monuments. He also reduced their size during his first term, only to see President Biden restore the boundaries. Conservation groups are already planning legal challenges, setting up another courtroom fight over the land, Bloomberg Law reported.
What Land Was Cut and What It Means
Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante together cover millions of acres in southern Utah. Both were originally protected by Democratic presidents — Grand Staircase-Escalante by Bill Clinton in 1996 and Bears Ears by Barack Obama in 2016. The new order strips federal monument protections from large portions of both sites, according to Dayton Daily News.
Removing monument status means the land could be opened to oil and gas leasing, coal mining, and other commercial uses that were previously banned, Bloomberg Government reported. Supporters say the move hands Utah more local control over how the land is managed and used.
Republicans Push to Reshape Federal Land Management
The monument reductions are part of a wider effort by the Trump administration and congressional Republicans to change how the federal government manages public land, according to Times Union. The goal, supporters say, is to streamline oversight and reduce what they call unnecessary restrictions on land use.
Utah Republicans have long argued that Washington overreaches when it locks up land in their state. Sen. Mike Lee and other Utah officials have pushed for years to shrink or eliminate the monument designations. The executive order gives them a major political win, according to KSL News Radio.
Conservation Groups Gear Up for a Court Battle
Environmental and tribal groups are vowing to fight the order in court. They argue that presidents do not have the legal authority to shrink national monuments — only to create them. Courts have not yet issued a definitive ruling on that question, Bloomberg Law reported.
Native American tribes have a deep connection to Bears Ears, which contains thousands of archaeological and sacred sites. During Biden's presidency, tribal leaders celebrated the restoration of the monument's full boundaries. The new reduction is seen as a serious blow to Indigenous land protections, according to More Than Just Parks.
A Decade-Long Tug-of-War Over Utah's Public Lands
The fight over Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante has gone back and forth for nearly a decade. Trump first cut both monuments in 2017. Biden reversed those cuts in 2021 and restored full protections. Now Trump is shrinking them again, according to Post Register.
Each reversal has triggered lawsuits. Legal experts say the courts will likely decide once and for all whether a president can reduce — not just create — a national monument. That ruling, whenever it comes, could reshape land policy across the entire American West, Bloomberg Law reported.
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