Trump Shrinks Utah Monuments
President Trump cuts the size of two Utah monuments, alarming tribes and conservationists.
Summary
On July 13, President Donald Trump signed proclamations reducing Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah by about 3 million acres combined. The action revisits cuts from Trump's first term and reverses Biden-era restorations that had reinstated broader federal protections for both sites. The monuments include ancient cliff dwellings, petroglyphs and canyons in southern Utah, and Bears Ears is sacred to many Native Americans. Utah officials and Republican lawmakers have sought smaller boundaries to shift land-management authority and expand access to coal and uranium deposits.
Coverage Angles
Local Control
Mostly RightUtah communities should have more say over land use than Washington officials. Trump’s order restores balance by loosening federal restrictions that have limited local economies, ranching, energy, and recreation.
Republican Land Shift
Mostly RightThe monument cuts are part of a broader Republican effort to remake federal land management in the West. Reducing the monuments by millions of acres signals a major move away from conservation-first policy toward development and state influence.
