President Donald Trump signed proclamations on July 13, 2026, reducing the size of two Utah national monuments by roughly 90% [1, 2].

The move fundamentally alters the federal protection of millions of acres of land, shifting control away from conservation mandates toward industrial and recreational use.

Accompanied by Utah Governor Spencer Cox, the president targeted the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments [3, 4]. According to reports, each monument was shrunk from approximately three million acres to 300,000 acres [5]. Other estimates suggest the reduction removed close to 1.5 million acres from each site [1].

Trump said the decision returns the land to the people of Utah [6]. He said that the reductions would open the territory to logging, grazing, motorized recreation, and other resource development [3, 7].

"We are giving this land back to the people of Utah," Trump said [6].

The proclamations faced immediate objections from conservation groups and tribal nations [3, 7]. These groups said that the drastic reduction in size threatens culturally significant sites and fragile ecosystems—areas that were previously shielded from industrial activity.

The scale of the reduction is among the most significant changes to national monument boundaries in recent history [1, 2]. By removing millions of acres from protected status, the administration has paved the way for commercial interests to operate in regions that were previously restricted to preserve natural and indigenous heritage [3, 5].

“"We are giving this land back to the people of Utah."”

This action represents a significant shift in federal land management, prioritizing economic extraction and local state control over national conservation and tribal stewardship. By reducing the protected acreage by 90%, the administration effectively removes the legal barriers to mining and drilling in areas previously deemed of high national or cultural value, likely triggering prolonged legal challenges from environmental and indigenous advocates.