Trump cuts 2 Utah monuments from 3.2 million acres to 303,000
Why it matters: The move reopens a long fight over federal land, mining and tribal sacred sites protected under the Antiquities Act.
President Donald Trump moved Monday to sharply shrink Utah's Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, reviving a public-lands battle that swung between his first term and President Joe Biden's reversal. The two monuments had covered more than 3.2 million acres combined; Trump reduced them to less than 303,000 acres, a deeper cut than in his first term. Supporters, including Utah officials, argue the previous boundaries were too broad and blocked access to coal, uranium and other minerals. Conservation groups and some Native American tribes have long viewed the areas as culturally and scientifically important and are likely to challenge the move.