Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Modifies Two National Monuments, Restoring Sensible Land Management

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Modifies Two National Monuments, Restoring Sensible Land Management
RIGHTSIZING UTAH NATIONAL MONUMENTS: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed Proclamations modifying two Utah national monuments, the Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The Proclamations reduce these monuments to appropriate sizes that allow for common sense land use in these areas.
- One Proclamation reduces the size of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument from approximately 1.87 million acres to approximately 181,500 acres.
- Another Proclamation reduces the size of the Bears Ears National Monument from approximately 1.36 million acres to approximately 121,100 acres.
- The specific landmarks, structures, and objects of historic and scientific interest that the Antiquities Act and monuments safeguard will continue to be protected, while the surrounding lands not relevant to such protected landmarks, structures, and objects will now be available for multiple-use, sustained-yield management.
FIGHTING GOVERNMENT OVERREACH ON PUBLIC LAND: President Trump is ending the overreach and abuse of the Antiquities Act, which has been used to restrict the uses of America’s public lands.
- The Antiquities Act requires that objects protected by a monument be of historic or scientific interest, and that the area reserved for the monument to protect the objects be the smallest area compatible with their proper care and management.
- The term “Objects of historic or scientific interest” has been stretched to include landscape areas, biodiversity, “viewsheds,” and “remoteness.”
- Many of the features and resources noted in the proclamations establishing these national monuments are not objects of historic or scientific interest, or they are already covered by numerous other Federal laws that provide enhanced protections on federal lands.
- Rightsizing these national monuments allows for the restoration of public access and traditional multiple-use activities on these Federal lands and waters, such as grazing, timber harvest, fishing, hunting, resource development, infrastructure upgrades, and motorized recreation.
RESTORING MULTIPLE-USE LAND MANAGEMENT: President Trump is restoring public access to Federal land for multiple uses, while allowing for sustained-yield management.
- During President Trump’s first term, he signed the Great American Outdoors Act—the single largest investment in America’s national parks and public lands in history and the most significant conservation achievement since Teddy Roosevelt’s presidency.
- His Administration also designated 1.3 million new acres of wilderness, added 1,645 miles of new trails to the National Recreational Trails System, and expanded hunting and fishing opportunities across more than 2.3 million acres of land by the end of his first term.
- Immediately upon returning to office, President Trump signed an Executive Order to Unleash American Energy that opened hundreds of millions of acres Federal lands and waters to energy development, and streamlined the permitting process to increase production of reliable and affordable energy.
- In July 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order establishing the Make America Beautiful Again Commission to conserve America’s lands and waters, cut red tape, and drive conservation and economic growth.
- President Trump’s Department of the Interior rescinded the BLM’s Public Lands Rule, reaffirming the commitment to restoring balance in Federal land management by prioritizing multiple use access, elevating local decision-making, and supporting responsible energy development, ranching, grazing, timber production, and recreation.
- In May 2026, President Donald Trump rescinded Executive Order 11644 and Executive Order 11989, which together required agency heads to manage off-road vehicle use on public lands under a set of outdated and subjective criteria.