President Donald Trump significantly reduced the size of the Bears Ears and Grand Stairments-Escalante national monuments on Monday, cutting much of the protected land in southern Utah by approximately 90 percent. The State of Utah announced its support for the boundary modifications, stating that the state applauds the changes to the federal lands.
Massive Reductions in Acreage
The recent presidential action marks a second major reduction for both monuments under the Trump administration. According to Moab Times reporting on July 15, 2026, the new boundaries for Grand Staircase-Escalante will drop from 1.87 million acres to just over 181,500 acres. Similarly, the Bears Ears National Monument will be reduced from its previous 1.36 million acres to nearly 121,100 acres.
White House maps released Tuesday show that the new cuts remove several of the region's most iconic locations. The reductions impact a landscape that has been subject to shifting federal boundaries for decades, with various presidential administrations altering the protections of these southern Utah sites.
Bears Ears Boundary Shifts
The Bears Ears National Monument has undergone several transformations since its inception. President Barack Obama first proclaimed 1.35 million acres as the monument in 2016. Following that, the Trump administration reduced the area by roughly 85 percent in 2017, before President Joe Biden restored the monument to its original size and added approximately 12,000 acres in 2021.
The latest modification leaves the monument 91 percent smaller than its previous iteration. Under the new boundaries, certain historical and cultural sites remain protected within the 106,816-acre Shash Jáa Unit, including Bears Ears Buttes, Arch Canyon, Mule Canyon, Comb Ridge, and the Big Kachina Panel. Other remaining areas include the 14,279-acre Indian Creek Unit, which contains Shay Canyon and Newspaper Rock, as well as the Doll House granary site, the Scorup Cabin, and Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings such as Moon House and Citadel.
Lost Lands in Bears Ears
Despite the remaining protected units, significant portions of Bears Ears have been removed from federal monument status. The cuts include most of Dark Canyon, much of Butler Wash, and large sections of Cedar Mesa, including Grand Gulch. Additionally, the Valley of the Grand Gods and Beef Basin are no longer included within the monument's boundaries.
Other notable areas lost in the reduction include the Rig Canyon Mining Exploration Site, which contains a 100-year-old oil well.
Grand Staircase Reductions
The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has also seen a dramatic decrease in size. Originally designated by President Bill Clinton with 1.7 million acres in 1996, the monument eventually expanded to 1.87 million acres through congressional adjustments. Following a 50 percent reduction by Trump in 2017 and a restoration by Biden in 2021, the current administration's cuts have left the monument 90 percent smaller.
The remaining 181,500 acres consist primarily of the 172,641-acre Canyons of the Escalante Unit. This protected portion includes the Escalante Natural Bridge, Calf Creek Canyon, the Hundred Hands panel, the Boulder Mail Trail, and various canyons situated along parts of the Escalante River. The monument also retains the 8,900-acre Kaiparowits Horizon Unit, which is notable for containing fossils of mammals, reptiles, and dinosaurs.
Excluded Geological Features
The reduction of Grand Staircase-Escalante removes several critical landmarks and geological features from federal protection. Areas cut from the monument include The Grand Staircase itself, huge portions of the Kaiparowits Plateau, and the Circle Cliffs area.
The new boundaries also exclude the Paria River area and Buckskin Gulch. Furthermore, areas surrounding Hole-in-the-Rock Road—including Devil’s Garden, Dance Hall Rock, Twenty Mile Wash Dinosaur Trackway, and Metate Arch—are no longer part of the monument.
Utah State Response
While the scale of the land reduction has sparked significant debate over federal land management in Utah, the State of Utah has taken a definitive stance. According to an announcement from the Utah Attorney General's office on July 13, 2026, the state officially applauds the modifications made to the national monuments.
