Speculation Over Utah National Monuments Future Increases With Upcoming Trump Visit

President Trump is set to deliver an early Christmas gift to Utah’s elected leaders on Monday. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Trump is coming to Salt Lake City to announce an executive order shrinking two of the state’s national monuments, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante. Both were created by Democratic presidents under the authority of the 1906 Antiquities Act. The Tribune reports that Bears Ears, currently at 1.35 million acres, may wind up somewhere just over 180,000 acres. Grand Staircase, now 1.9 million acres in size, may be slashed in half. Speculation is that Trump will cut out parts of that monument containing extensive coal reserves. The majority of Utah’s leaders from the governor and congressional delegation down to county commissioners have called for the monuments to be scaled back or eliminated. However, conservation groups and a number of Native American coalitions oppose any changes. Native Americans had fought hard for the creation of Bears Ears, which protects lands sacred to them. Such groups are expected to challenge Trump’s authority to change the monuments through an executive order. The director of the nonprofit Center for Western Priorities, Jennifer Rokala, said in a statement, “The president is capping his celebration of Native American Heritage Month by opening the door to new drilling and mining on land considered sacred by tribal nations.”