For more than a century, the 1906 Antiquities Act has given the President extraordinary power over public lands. With a quick stroke of the pen, the President can create a national monument on federal lands to protect historic sites or structures.
Since the bill was passed, 18 presidents have created 168 national monuments, but in the last decade, only two of them have been at the center of major political debate, and they are in the news again. On Monday, President Trump signed an executive order to shrink the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.
What are these monuments?
Located in southern Utah, close to Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park, the Grand Staircase is a 1.9 million-acre parcel of land that received national monument status in 1996.
It is popular with many outdoor enthusiasts, including hikers, campers, and off-roaders. It is famous for its spectacular, multicolored rock formations. according to a report From the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), 936,000 people visited the national monument in 2024, up from 890,000 in 2023.
Calls to make Bears Ears, also located in southern Utah, a national monument came from many locals Native American tribes. The Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, Pueblo of Zuni, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and Ute Indian Tribe all pushed for this designation. The 1.36 million acre land area is home to over 100,000 indigenous archaeological and cultural sites, many of which are considered sacred to these groups.
President Obama declared it a national monument in 2016 and the tribes, who together make up the Bears Ears Commission, were given an important role in land management. According to this, the monument receives approximately 416,000 tourists in 2024 and 454,000 tourists in 2023. BLM data.
what did trump do
While the Antiquities Act of 1906 gives the President the power to establish national monuments, whether the law allows him to destroy or revoke national monuments is unclear. many legal scholar And lawsuits This question has been debated for decades.
Despite this, in a press conference on July 13, President Trump announced that he was introducing legislation to shrink both national monuments. he reduced Grand staircase up to 181,541 acres and bear ears To 121,096 acres, a reduction of about 90% in both.
The documents publishing these actions provide a number of reasons to justify reducing the size of national monuments. The Trump administration stated that large portions of these lands do not contain historic landmarks or objects of historical or scientific interest, and thus do not meet the standard for protection under the Antiquities Act.
The documents also state that while historic sites exist on these lands, there are several existing federal laws protecting them, including the Archaeological Resources Protection Act and the National Historic Preservation Act, making national monument status unnecessary.
In addition to reducing the size of these monuments, Trump’s announcements included several other action points. He disbanded the Bears Ears Commission, an inter-tribal group involved in land management. Instead, “the Secretary will continue to consult with Tribal Nations in accordance with other applicable authorities.” read the document.
The Trump administration has prioritized resource extraction from public lands in the past, and this ethos applies to both national monuments as well. Trump announced that within 60 days, the land withdrawn from both national monuments would be put up for sale or leased for mining.
“The Bears Ears region contains many resources that are critical to energy and resource independence and, in turn, to national security,” the proclamation said. “Modifying the monument’s boundaries will help ensure that adequate domestic supplies exist, thereby reducing the threat posed by our nation’s dependence on foreign sources.”
feedback
Several environmental and public lands groups issued statements criticizing Trump’s actions.
In a press release, Center for Western Priorities Said the move was “illegal and disregards public support.” The public lands advocacy group cited surveys by the Grand Canyon Trust and Colorado College showing that more than 70% of Utah voters favor keeping the monuments at their current size.
The Center for Biological Diversity, a conservation non-profit, condemned the move. “The American people have made it clear time and again that they want our national monuments protected, not sold to drilling and mining companies. President Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum would be wise to remember this,” Executive Director Aaron Weiss said in a Press release.
Context
The controversy over the Grand Staircase began when then-President Clinton created the national monument. 1996. The move ended a potential coal development project in the area, angering some locals.
In 2017President Trump caused major controversy when he shrunk the Grand Staircase by nearly 50%, reducing its size to just 1 million acres. then in 2021Biden restored the Grand Staircase to its former size, a decision upheld by the courts 2023 decision.
In 2026, Congress attempted to undo Grand Staircase’s Resource Management Plan (RMP) established in the Biden era through the Congressional Review Act (CRA). Essentially, the lawmakers said the RMP is subject to congressional review. Republican lawmakers from Utah, including Senator Mike Lee and Representative Celeste Malloy, were attempting to pass a resolution to reject the Biden-era RMP and replace it with the Trump-era RMP.
Lawmakers favoring this plan are worried federal redundancies. This procedural tactic appears to have yielded no results.
When President Obama declared Bears Ears a monument 2016This resulted in the Lockhart Basin being removed from potential future energy leasing, angering industry groups. In 2017, shortly after its creation, President Trump reduced the size of Bears Ears by 83% to just 230,000 acres. When Biden came into office the status of the monument was reversed again. In 2021, the President restored the national monument to its former size.
Thus, Trump’s executive order is the latest salvo in the ongoing fight over these national monuments.
