President Donald Trump is reportedly planning a closed-door executive order to significantly reduce the size of two Utah national monuments, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, according to reports from Utah. The move, scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET at the White House, aims to roll back protections on approximately two million acres of public land, a decision that critics say ignores widespread public opposition.
Secretive White House Meeting
The Center for Western Priorities announced July 13, 2026, that the administration's plan to attack the monuments is being handled with extreme secrecy. The President's public calendar for the event lists it only as "sign an executive order" with no specific mention of the Bears Ears or Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments. Furthermore, the White House has not scheduled any press briefings for the afternoon, and the signing is marked as closed to the press.
Criticism of Lack of Transparency
Aaron Weiss, the Executive Director of the Center for Western Priorities, criticized the lack of transparency regarding the decision. Weiss stated that planning the move behind closed doors without providing notice to the press, the public, or the five Tribes of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition shows the administration knows it is on the wrong side of history.
Cultural and Economic Stakes
The proposed reduction targets lands that hold significant cultural and historical value, including ancient cliff dwellings, petroglyphs, and scenic canyons. While the monuments are sacred to many Native American communities, state officials have expressed interest in making the area's coal and uranium deposits available for development.
Reversing Democratic Protections
This administrative action seeks to undo protections established by Democratic predecessors. President Bill Clinton designated the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in 1996, and President Barack Obama designated the Bears Ears National Monument in 2016 at the request of five sovereign Tribal nations. The latter designation was made under the Antiquities Act of 1906, which grants presidents the power to protect sites deemed archaeologically, culturally, or historically significant.
History of Land Reductions
The current administration's approach marks a return to policies seen during Trump's first term. In December 2017, President Trump reduced Bears Ears from 1.35 million acres to approximately 228,000 acres and Grand Staircase-Escalante from 1.87 million acres to about 1 million acres. This 2017 action was described as the largest rollback of public lands protections in American history. Although those cuts were reversed by President Joe Biden in October 2021, legal challenges from businesses, conservation groups, and Tribes remain pending in a federal court in Washington, D.C.
Republican Land Management Shift
The President's move aligns with a broader Republican effort to reshape the management of taxpayer-owned lands in the West. Trump and other Republicans have sought to expand logging, mining, and drilling on public lands while removing protections for conservation and imperiled species. During a signing event on a Monday, Trump defended the move by stating, "They took the land from the people quite honestly. We're giving it back."
Widespread Public Opposition in Utah
Public opinion data suggests the administration faces significant resistance in Utah. A 2024 poll conducted for the Grand Canyon Trust found that 71 percent of Utah voters support maintaining Bears Ears as a national monument, and 74 percent support keeping Grand Staircase-Escalante. Additionally, three-quarters of Utah voters support the authority of presidents to protect public lands as national monuments.
