RIGHTSIZING UTAH NATIONAL MONUMENTS: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed proclamations that alter the boundaries of the Bears Ears National Monument and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah. These proclamations aim to resize the monuments to facilitate more practical land management practices.
- One proclamation reduces the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument from about 1.87 million acres to roughly 181,500 acres.
- Another proclamation decreases the Bears Ears National Monument from approximately 1.36 million acres to about 121,100 acres.
- The Antiquities Act will continue to protect specific landmarks, structures, and objects of historical and scientific significance, while the surrounding lands that do not pertain to these protected areas will be open for multiple-use, sustained-yield management.
FIGHTING GOVERNMENT OVERREACH ON PUBLIC LAND: President Trump is addressing what he sees as the overextension and misuse of the Antiquities Act, which has been employed to limit public land usage.
- The Antiquities Act stipulates that the objects protected by a monument must be of historic or scientific interest, and the monument’s area should be the smallest necessary for their proper care and management.
- The definition of “Objects of historic or scientific interest” has sometimes been expanded to include broader landscape areas, biodiversity, “viewsheds,” and “remoteness.”
- Many features and resources identified in the proclamations for these national monuments do not qualify as objects of historic or scientific interest or are already protected under other federal laws.
- These changes facilitate the restoration of public access and traditional multiple-use activities on federal lands and waters, including grazing, timber harvesting, fishing, hunting, resource development, infrastructure upgrades, and motorized recreation.
RESTORING MULTIPLE-USE LAND MANAGEMENT: President Trump is reopening federal lands for a variety of uses while ensuring sustainable management.
- During his first term, President Trump signed the Great American Outdoors Act, marking the largest investment in national parks and public lands in U.S. history, and a significant conservation milestone since the presidency of Teddy Roosevelt.
- His administration also designated 1.3 million new acres of wilderness, introduced 1,645 miles of new trails to the National Recreational Trails System, and enhanced hunting and fishing opportunities across more than 2.3 million acres by the end of his first term.
- Upon returning to office, President Trump signed an Executive Order to Unleash American Energy, which opened vast tracts of federal lands and waters for energy development and streamlined the permitting process to boost reliable and affordable energy production.
- In July 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order to create the Make America Beautiful Again Commission, aimed at conserving lands and waters, reducing regulatory burdens, and promoting conservation and economic growth.
- President Trump’s Department of the Interior rescinded the BLM’s Public Lands Rule, emphasizing a balanced approach to federal land management by prioritizing multiple-use access, enhancing local decision-making, and supporting responsible energy development, ranching, grazing, timber production, and recreation.
- In May 2026, President Donald Trump rescinded Executive Order 11644 and Executive Order 11989, which had required agency heads to manage off-road vehicle use on public lands under outdated and subjective criteria.
