Trump Cuts Utah Monuments by 90%, Shrinking Nearly 3M Acres
President Trump reduces Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by about 90%.
Why it matters: These cuts affect nearly 3 million acres of protected Utah land, impacting tribal cultural sites and federal land-use policies. Legal challenges over the Antiquities Act are anticipated, with significant implications for environmental and tribal law.
- Bears Ears shrinks from 1.36 million to about 121,100 acres as of July 13, 2026.
- Grand Staircase-Escalante reduces from 1.87 million to roughly 181,500 acres on the same date.
- The reductions open land for mining, drilling, and logging, supported by Utah officials but opposed by tribes and environmentalists.
- Governor Spencer Cox praised the decision as restoring state control and economic opportunity (source: <a href="https://apnews.com/article/69f14749f13a7ac6fb6ee07ce4cd84bf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AP News</a>).
On July 13, 2026, President Donald Trump signed proclamations cutting the protected areas of Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by approximately 90%. Bears Ears shrank from about 1.36 million acres to roughly 121,100 acres, while Grand Staircase-Escalante was reduced from 1.87 million acres to about 181,500 acres. Together, these reductions represent nearly 3 million acres of federal land losing monument status.
This move aligns with a broader initiative by Republican leaders to loosen restrictions on public lands, allowing for increased coal, uranium mining, drilling, and logging. Utah officials, including Governor Spencer Cox, have welcomed the changes as a restoration of state control and a boost for economic development. Governor Cox called it "a big day for Utah" and supported shifting land management to local authorities (AP News).
Opposition comes from multiple Native American tribes and environmental groups. Bears Ears holds deep cultural and spiritual significance as it hosts ancestral villages, ceremonial, and burial sites. Davina Smith-Idjes, Co-chair of the Bears Ears Coalition, emphasized its status as a "living site" important for tribal heritage. Critics challenge the legality of the reductions under the Antiquities Act of 1906, which authorizes presidents to designate and protect monuments but has not been definitively tested for allowing such drastic shrinkages.
These latest cuts exceed the scope of reductions President Trump made in 2017, which were reversed by President Joe Biden upon taking office. The current change is expected to face legal challenges from tribes and environmental organizations, focusing on protection of cultural sites and environmental conservation. These proceedings will shape the regulatory landscape for federal land management in Utah.
By affecting designated monument boundaries, the administration alters long-standing federal protections, raising questions about executive authority under the Antiquities Act. Ongoing litigation will test the limits of presidential power in modifying national monuments, with significant consequences for environmental and tribal law.
By the numbers:
- 90% — Reduction scale for both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments.
- Nearly 3 million acres — Combined land area affected by monument cuts.
Yes, but: While Governor Cox supports reopening land for development, tribes and environmentalists argue the cuts violate protections under the Antiquities Act and threaten sacred sites.
What's next: Legal challenges from Native American tribes and environmental groups are anticipated soon, possibly resulting in court rulings that will define presidential authority over monument designations.