Overview
- President Trump signed proclamations on Monday that shrink Bears Ears to about 121,100 acres and Grand Staircase‑Escalante to about 181,500 acres, removing roughly 3 million acres from federal monument protections.
- The administration invoked the Antiquities Act and said prior designations were 'too large' and included resources beyond the objects the law protects, arguing the changes will make management more local and usable.
- Tribal nations and conservation groups condemned the move for cutting protections around sacred sites and for ending tribal co‑stewardship arrangements, and several organizations have announced plans to sue immediately.
- Utah officials and mining interests praised the change because it could open lands with coal, uranium and other minerals to exploration and other uses, though actual development would depend on new permits and legal outcomes.
- The action revives a long legal fight over whether a president can unilaterally shrink or rescind a predecessor’s monument, a dispute now more likely to reach the appeals courts and possibly the Supreme Court given recent 10th Circuit activity.