New summary produced by Claude AI
President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he will reduce the size of two major national monuments in Utah—Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante—reversing protections established by his predecessors under the Antiquities Act of 1906. The action represents a continuation of similar moves made during his first term as president, though those were subsequently reversed by his successor.
The two monuments currently span more than 3.2 million acres combined, an area nearly the size of Connecticut. Under Trump’s order, the combined acreage will decrease to less than 303,000 acres—a more significant reduction than occurred during his first term. Utah state officials, who have long sought greater control over land management within the state, praised the decision. Governor Spencer Cox stated that lands removed from the monument designations would remain protected under existing federal and state law.
Supporters of the reductions argued that protective boundaries extended too far and restricted mining operations for essential minerals. The Bears Ears region contains uranium deposits, while Grand Staircase-Escalante holds substantial coal reserves. However, the order drew criticism from conservation groups and representatives of Native American tribes. The Bears Ears area is jointly managed through an agreement between tribal nations and federal agencies, and tribal leaders expressed concern that the changes disrespect tribal co-stewardship and open the area to mining operations.
The Antiquities Act grants presidents authority to designate sites of cultural, historic, or scientific interest as protected monuments. Since 1912, more than a dozen presidential proclamations have diminished existing monuments, though the back-and-forth over the Utah sites highlights how monument management has become a contentious political issue. Presidents including Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman, and Dwight Eisenhower previously reduced monument acreage, with some areas later redesignated as national parks through congressional action. National monuments provide sweeping protections against drilling, mining, and construction, distinguishing them from national forests, which allow resource extraction on leased parcels.