Protect Bears Ears and Grand Staircase National Monuments

Trump has signed an executive order drastically reducing the size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah, making this now the second time he has attempted to shrink these two world-renowned national monuments. In 2017, Trump reduced Bears Ears by 85 percent and Grand Staircase-Escalante by nearly half, a move that was undone in 2021 when President Biden restored both to their original size.

Bears Ears, which is considered sacred land by many tribal nations, was designated a national monument by President Obama in 2016, while the geographically and scientifically significant Grand Staircase-Escalante, designated in 1996, is one of the world’s richest sources of Triassic era fossils. Both monuments were created under the Antiquities Act of 1906, which gives presidents the explicit authority to create national monuments, but says nothing about the power to abolish or modify them once established.

Preserving these public lands is overwhelmingly popular, not only in Utah, but throughout the Western United States. A 2024 poll found that over 70 percent of Utah voters support continued protections for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. And according to Colorado College’s 2026 Conservation in the West poll, 91 percent of voters in eight Western states want existing national monument designations to remain in place.

Trump’s executive order opens up these established national monuments for potential mining, drilling, and large-scale commercial development. Congress should enact legislation that protects the rich biodiversity, unique geology, and cultural significance of these important public lands.