News Source
EXCERPT:
While the concept of federally protecting certain parks and monuments has enjoyed wide bipartisan support, there’s plenty of disagreement about just how much of the nation’s fertile land should be off limits.
President Donald Trump weighed in on that debate recently with his announcement that two massive monuments in Utah will be whittled down to about 10% of their respective sizes.
According to Fox News:
The order applies to the Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears national monuments, shrinking their total coverage by roughly 90% from 3 million acres to 300,000. The areas were established as federal monuments by President Bill Clinton in 1996 and Barack Obama in 2016, respectively.
“They took the land from the people quite honestly,” Trump said during the Monday signing ceremony. “We’re giving it back.”
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox also attended the signing and praised the move, saying the original size of the monuments was far too expansive.
.@POTUS: “We’re doing something very dramatic and very important for the people of Utah.” @GovCox: “This is a big day for Utah. @POTUS did something very similar several years ago during his first term… we believe that under the Antiquities Act, it’s very clear that these… pic.twitter.com/RCQe1WMKBi
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 13, 2026