Trump cuts 2 Utah monuments, reopening millions of acres dispute
Why it matters: The move revives a fight over drilling, mining and tribal protections on more than 3.2 million acres in southern Utah.
President Donald Trump on Monday shrank Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah, reversing land protections restored by President Joe Biden and reopening a long-running battle over development on public lands. The two monuments in southern Utah cover more than 3.2 million acres and include cliff dwellings, petroglyphs and other sites many Native Americans consider sacred. Trump used the Antiquities Act to reduce the monuments, a step he also took in his first term before Biden restored the boundaries. Utah leaders have pushed for more state control and access to coal and uranium deposits, while tribal leaders said the action threatens cultural and burial sites and bypassed consultation with Native nations.