U.S. President Donald Trump signed executive orders on July 13, 2026, to shrink Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah by approximately 90 percent each, stripping federal protections from roughly 1.5 million acres per site. The proclamations, issued under the Antiquities Act of 1906, reverse designations made by former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and open hundreds of thousands of hectares to fossil fuel extraction and mining.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox welcomed the move, arguing the original designations exceeded the scope permitted under the Antiquities Act and represented an overreach of federal authority.
Environmental advocates swiftly pushed back. Earthjustice announced plans to file suit, contending the law grants presidents authority to create monuments but not to diminish them. Similar reductions Trump made during his first term were reversed by President Joe Biden in 2021, setting the stage for a renewed legal and political battle over public lands in the American West.