President Trump signed executive orders Monday reducing Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments, opening land to developers and the oil and gas industry.
1:04 AM
President Donald Trump approved a sharp reduction in the size of two national monuments in Utah on Monday, signing executive orders that will open protected public land to corporate developers and the oil and gas industry.
The two monuments, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, will each lose approximately 1.5 million acres of protected status, Trump said during an executive order signing event at the White House. The reductions undo protections that were established by former presidents.
"They took the land from the people quite honestly," Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday. "We're giving it back."
The monuments are held sacred by many Native American tribes. Bears Ears, located in southeastern Utah, contains significant cultural and archaeological sites. Grand Staircase-Escalante, also in Utah, encompasses diverse geological formations and landscapes.
The executive orders represent the latest action by the Trump administration to open U.S. public land to resource extraction and commercial development. By reducing the designated monument areas, the administration removes federal protections that previously restricted mining, drilling, and other industrial activities on those lands.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox was present at the signing ceremony in the Oval Office, where Trump handed him a pen after signing the orders.
The reductions follow a pattern of the Trump administration's approach to federal land management, which has prioritized opening protected areas to energy development and other commercial uses. The specific acreage reductions—close to 1.5 million acres for each monument—represent substantial portions of the original protected designations.
Native American tribes have historically opposed efforts to reduce monument protections, citing the cultural and spiritual significance of these lands. The monuments contain petroglyphs, archaeological sites, and landscapes central to tribal heritage and religious practices.
The executive orders take effect immediately upon signing.
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