Overview
- President Trump signed proclamations that shrink Bears Ears from about 1.36 million acres to roughly 121,100 acres and Grand Staircase‑Escalante from about 1.87 million acres to roughly 181,500 acres, a reduction of roughly 90 percent announced during a White House signing Monday.
- The Bears Ears proclamation orders much of the released land be reopened to new mining claims and other development within 60 days, and the proclamations are set to take effect after a 60‑day period reported as Sept. 11.
- Maps produced by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, The Wilderness Society and the State of Utah show many popular canyons, backpacking routes, fossil sites and cultural landmarks now fall outside the new monument boundaries.
- Tribal nations and the Bears Ears Commission say they were not consulted, and the proclamations strip the formal multi‑tribal co‑stewardship role that had guided management of Bears Ears.
- Conservation groups, legal advocates and tribes are preparing lawsuits arguing the Antiquities Act does not authorize a president to substantially reduce prior monuments, while supporters in Utah praise greater access and potential economic uses; lands removed would remain federal but could become eligible for leasing and extractive permits.