At least nine new mining claims were filed in former parts of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments following executive orders that reduced the monuments' footprint by more than 90%. According to documents reviewed by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, private companies filed claims on the newly unprotected land less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump stripped nearly 3 million acres from the two Utah monuments.
On July 13, Donald Trump issued executive orders reducing the collective footprint of the monuments. The following day, on July 14, Utah-based Kimmerle Mining filed seven mining claims in an area that previously fell inside Bears Ears. On Aug. 6, an individual named Craig Rosequist filed two claims inside the former boundaries of Grand Staircase-Escalante.
No active mining claims can begin in Bears Ears National Monument before Sept. 11, 2026, which is 60 days after the executive orders were signed. New claims must still undergo a process that often takes many years, including paying fees and securing permits from state and federal authorities. It is possible the Bureau of Land Management will deny claims as opponents challenge the legality of the shrinkage.
Bobby McEnaney, the director of land conservation at the Natural Resources Defense Council, stated that the speed of the mining industry's movement to stake claims demonstrates the consequences of stripping protections from the landscape. He characterized the future mining claims as a virtual giveaway of public lands.
The two monuments were reduced once before in 2017 during Trump's first presidency. Before the boundaries were restored in 2021, several new mining claims were filed within the opened lands, and the BLM received over 100 oil and gas lease nominations totaling tens of thousands of acres.
