New maps released this week reveal unprecedented boundary reductions to Bears Ears and Grand/ Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, stripping protections from numerous popular backpacking routes, canyons, and Indigenous cultural sites. The recent White House proclamation significantly shrinks the monuments' footprints, leaving several key landmarks outside protected boundaries where they may face future drilling and mining operations.
Bears Ears boundary shifts
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) and The Wilderness Society (TWS) both released nearly identical maps this week illustrating the steep cuts to the monuments. According to Backpacker, the reductions represent a drastic decrease in land area that far exceeds the scale of previous administration cuts seen in 2017.
In Bears Ears National Monument, while the southern Shash Jáa Unit remains largely unchanged following the 91 percent reduction implemented by the Trump administration, the northern Indian Creek Unit has been significantly diminished. The unit now covers only approximately one-fifth of its former size. To protect specific sites, five small exclaves have been scattered around the monument's former territory, including Rig Canyon—a site noted for early oil exploration—and Indigenous structures such as the Citadel and Moon House.
Grand Staircase massive reductions
The scale of the changes to Grand Staircase-Escalante is described as equally sweeping. While a 2017 order reduced the monument's size by half, this month’s changes have slashed the area by 90 percent. The remaining protected land consists of a contiguous stretch in the northeast known as the Escalante Canyons Unit, along with three smaller areas located in the south and center of the monument, collectively referred to as the Kaipirowths Horizon Unit.
Concerns over resource extraction
Steve Bloch, the legal director for SUWA, told Backpacker that the recent cuts "eviscerated" the monuments. He stated that the administration has indicated an intention to manage the remaining protected lands primarily for resource extraction, off-road vehicles, and grazing.
Bloch described the administration's approach as a "very dystopian take on what a national monument might be," adding that the excluded lands contain some of the most remarkable features within the nation's public land system. He argued that without national monument protection, essential resources like fossils and cultural sites are likely to be "lost in the shuffle" because the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) loses its primary guidepost for prioritizing protection.
Mining and mapping details
The maps, which were digitized by SUWA and TWS using data from the White House press office and BLM maps, appear to align with an interactive map of the reductions shared by the State of Utah. While official mapping data from the White House has not yet been released, the impact on mineral deposits is already evident.
A 2018 map of active mining claims in Bears Ears from the Grand Canyon Trust indicates that the vast majority of the area's richest potential mineral deposits now lie outside the monument's new limits. If the current proclamation remains in place, these excluded acres could be opened to mining and other industrial uses in as little as 60 days.
Lost wilderness landmarks
Several prominent wilderness areas and hiking destinations are now located outside the new boundaries of Bears Ears. These include Fish Canyon, a deep canyon featuring towers and arches that is often hiked as part of a 16-mile loop with Owl Canyon, and Grand Gulch, which spans 52 miles through Cedar Mesa and contains Ancestral Puebloan dwellings and rock art. Other notable losses include the Valley of the Gods area, known for its sandstone buttes, the remote Cheesebox Canyon slot, and the Dark Canyon Wilderness Study Area, which features a rugged 40-mile backpacking loop.
Similarly, Grand Staircase-Escalante has lost access to significant landmarks. The remote Peek-a-Boo Canyon and Spooky Gulch, popular with canyoneers, are no longer within the protected area. Other excluded sites include Coyote Gulch, a well-known hike that borders the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and Bull Valley Gorge, a slot canyon famous for an antique Jeep wedged between its sandstone walls.
Future of protected lands
While some supporters of the cuts argue that the landscapes excluded from the new boundaries still receive adequate protection, conservationists remain opposed to the reduction in status. The debate continues as the legal and administrative implications of the White House proclamation move toward implementation.
