President Donald Trump’s decision to reduce the size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by more than 90 percent represents another dramatic reversal in the management of America’s public lands.
The new boundaries leave less than 303,000 acres protected, down from more than 3.2 million acres. The administration argues that the reduction will expand access for grazing, motorized recreation, logging and mineral development. Supporters in Utah describe the decision as a restoration of local control. Native American tribes and environmental organizations view it as an attack on culturally and ecologically significant land.
This dispute is about more than acreage. It reflects a structural weakness in the way national monuments are governed.
The Antiquities Act of 1906 gives presidents the power to protect federal land containing important cultural, historical or scientific resources. That authority has allowed administrations to act when Congress could not. It has also created a system in which protection can expand or contract depending on which party controls the White House.
President Barack Obama established Bears Ears in 2016. Trump sharply reduced its size during his first term. President Joe Biden restored the larger boundaries in 2021. Trump has now reduced them again.
Land that contains sacred tribal sites, archaeological resources and unique ecosystems should not be managed like a temporary executive preference.
The legal question is also unsettled. Presidents have historically modified monument boundaries, but critics argue that the Antiquities Act authorizes the creation of monuments without granting equivalent power to dismantle them. The courts may eventually determine how far presidential authority extends.
Congress should not wait for another decade of litigation.
Lawmakers should establish durable boundaries and a permanent management framework for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante. That process should include tribal governments, Utah officials, local communities, conservationists, recreation groups and responsible industry representatives.
Native American tribes must hold more than a ceremonial role. Bears Ears contains landscapes and cultural sites that have been connected to Indigenous communities for generations. Any management plan that treats those communities as ordinary stakeholders rather than sovereign partners will lack legitimacy.
At the same time, residents of southern Utah deserve clarity about access, grazing, recreation and local economic development. Permanent legislation could identify protected cultural zones while creating predictable rules for activities compatible with conservation.
The current cycle satisfies nobody. Conservationists cannot trust that protections will survive a presidential election. Local businesses cannot plan around boundaries that repeatedly change. Tribal communities must continually defend sites they consider sacred. Resource companies face legal and political uncertainty over potential projects.
Public land policy should balance conservation with legitimate use, but some places carry a significance that cannot be restored after industrial development begins. Archaeological sites, burial grounds and fragile desert landscapes are not interchangeable commodities.
The debate over Bears Ears and Grand Staircase has continued through several administrations because Congress has avoided making the difficult decisions itself.
Presidents may have the authority to redraw the map. Only legislation can provide the stability these lands, their neighboring communities and future generations require.
