Trump cuts nearly 3 million acres from 2 Utah national monuments

Axios Axios —

President https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" target="_blank">Trump is decimating both Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears national monuments.

Why it matters: Monday's orders reduce protections on nearly 3 million acres in southern https://www.axios.com/local/salt-lake-city" target="_blank">Utah, affecting more than 90% of each monument's area.

Driving the news: https://www.axios.com/local/salt-lake-city/2025/01/08/trump-bears-ears-grand-staircase-escalante-rally-slc-suwa" target="_blank">Grand Staircase-Escalante will https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/07/modifying-the-grand-staircase-escalante-national-monument/" target="_blank">lose nearly 1.7 of its 1.87 million acres

The big picture: The cuts are far more drastic than in 2017, when Trump https://www.axios.com/2017/12/16/trump-shrinks-utah-national-monuments-by-millions-of-acres-1513388386" target="_blank">eliminated almost half of Grand Staircase-Escalante and 85% of Bears Ears in what was then the https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/04/us/trump-bears-ears.html" target="_blank">largest reduction of federal land protections in U.S. history.

Between the lines: Monday's cuts have been expected since last year, when https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/04/24/trump-national-monument-reductions-mining-oil/" target="_blank">Trump ordered his administration to find public lands to expand drilling and mining in the West.

Reality check: The practicality of extraction at the monuments has been debated for years.

Caveat: Not all of the lands removed from the monuments are totally unprotected.

  • Some sites remain within federal Wilderness Study Areas and Areas of Environmental Concern — designations that shield them from development, at least for now.

Yes, but: Trump's Interior Department last month https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-begins-nationwide-review-rock-climbing-management-and-wilderness-study-area" target="_blank">announced a review of policies around WSAs, which https://westernpriorities.org/2026/06/interior-lays-the-groundwork-for-attacks-on-wilderness-and-wildlands/" target="_blank">conservation groups say could weaken the protections they offer.

How it works: National monuments are created by presidential proclamation under the Antiquities Act to protect places of historic, prehistoric or scientific interest.

Catch up quick: Former President Obama established Bears Ears in 2016 to be managed in cooperation with Indigenous tribes near the Four Corners.

  • The Clinton administration created the largest-ever U.S. national monument when he announced Grand Staircase-Escalante in 1996.

What's inside: The monuments include ancient ruins, fossils, rock art and https://www.sltrib.com/news/2017/12/09/what-will-the-reduction-of-grand-staircase-escalante-national-monument-mean-for-popular-hiking-trails-and-sites/" target="_blank">many beloved recreation destinations.

State of play: Both have enraged Utah Republicans, who have long argued for smaller boundaries and less restrictive protections to allow https://www.axios.com/2020/02/06/utah-drilling-national-parks-trump-administration" target="_blank">potential expansion of drilling, mining, off-roading and grazing.

What's next: The monuments' shifting boundaries have left unresolved legal questions as to whether a president can unilaterally withdraw a predecessor's protections.

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