Trump cuts Utah Bears Ears, Grand Staircase monuments

President Donald Trump signed executive orders on July 13, 2026, dramatically reducing the size of two national monuments in Utah. The action cuts the Bears Ears National Monument from 1.36 million acres to approximately 121,000 acres and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument from 1.87 million acres to roughly 182,000 acres, a combined reduction of nearly 3 million acres.

The president signed the orders at the White House alongside Utah Governor Spencer Cox and the state’s Republican congressional delegation. Trump stated the move was important for the people of Utah and the country, claiming the previous monument designations were overly restrictive. Governor Cox argued the original monuments were far larger than necessary to protect antiquities, as required by the 1906 Antiquities Act, and came with no additional management resources.

The decision reignites a decades-long political and legal battle over the management of these public lands. President Bill Clinton established Grand Staircase-Escalante in 1996, and President Barack Obama designated Bears Ears in 2016 following a proposal from a coalition of five Tribal Nations. Trump first reduced the monuments in...