Trump Shrinks Utah National Monuments by 90%

So, during Trump’s presidency, he used the Antiquities Act to significantly reduce two national monuments in Utah by almost 90% each. The Grand Staircase-Escalante went from 1.87 million acres down to just 181,500 acres, and Bears Ears shrank from 1.36 million acres to 121,100 acres. These areas are important to Native American tribes like the Hopi, Navajo, and Ute Mountain Ute. Bears Ears alone has over 100,000 archaeological sites. The cuts removed key features like the Grand Staircase rock formation and the Valley of the Gods, which holds spiritual significance for the Navajo. Groups like the Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal Coalition have voiced concerns about tribal voices being ignored, and Earthjustice plans to take legal action. After Trump’s significant reductions, Biden restored the monuments to their original sizes in 2021.