Up to date July 17, 2026 03:05PM
For the second time in lower than a decade, the White Home is attempting to shrink Bears Ears Nationwide Monument. Following its first discount in 2017 and subsequent reversal, the Trump administration introduced on July 12 that it might lower Bears Ears in measurement by 91 p.c. The place does that go away the spectacular, embattled Utah monument? Editor-in-Chief Adam Roy breaks down 5 issues hikers ought to know.
Transcript
On July thirteenth, the Trump administration made sweeping cuts to Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, two nationwide monuments which were on the middle of controversy for 30 years. That is the second time the administration has tried to shrink them. It did the identical in 2017, however these cuts have been later reversed by incoming President Joe Biden.
Now, I’m very accustomed to this story, Bears Ears specifically. Certainly one of my first jobs was as a contributor for the newspaper in Moab, Utah, a standard leaping off level for journeys into Bears Ears. I’ve lined the story for the reason that monument was first designated in 2016, and in 2019, I returned to Bears Ears with Backpacker’s different editors for our annual Editors’ Alternative journey. Listed below are 5 issues that I feel hikers ought to learn about what’s taking place in Bears Ears.
1. The newest cuts to Bears Ears are huge.
This government order shrinks the monument by 91 p.c or about 1.2 million acres. That’s an space that’s truthfully form of onerous to conceive of, so by means of comparability, it’s about the identical measurement as Grand Canyon Nationwide Park.
Various essential backpacking locations and cultural websites at the moment are outdoors the nationwide monument’s borders. These embrace Grand Gulch, which is a well-liked backpacking website, Cedar Mesa, which is residence to one of many densest concentrations of Ancestral Puebloan structure in the US, Cheesebox Canyon, which is a spectacular slot canyon, and Valley of the Gods, which is a broad scenic valley, not dissimilar to Monument Valley.
2. That is about mining, no less than partially.
From the time the monument was first designated, one widespread argument utilized by opponents was that the monument would lock up crucial mineral deposits. It’s not clear what the extent of those deposits truly is, however we do know that there’s been exploration on this space prior to now. In actual fact, in 2017, this was a significant component in how the Trump administration determined to redraw these boundaries.
In 2026, the identical factor is true. The newest government order cites, quote, “crucial minerals corresponding to silver, copper, molybdenum, lead, uranium, vanadium, and zinc” as one of many fundamental motivations for shrinking Bears Ears. Once more, it’s not likely clear how a lot mining there could be if these modifications stick, however there’s motive for some native residents to be involved. Uranium mining specifically has a very fraught historical past on this space. Via the center of the century, it was form of a blended blessing. It supported the native financial system, nevertheless it additionally led to a variety of fairly devastating well being results for individuals who lived there.
Monticello, which is likely one of the closest cities to Bears Ears, was the location of a uranium mill from 1943 to 1960, and for many years afterwards, residents skilled heightened charges of sure forms of most cancers. They usually’re not the one city within the area to have a fraught historical past with uranium mining. In Moab, the Atlas Mill processed uranium earlier than going bankrupt in 1998 and sticking taxpayers with nearly all of the price of cleanup.
3. This order modifications how Bears Ears is managed in a fairly important manner.
In 2016, when the Obama administration first designated Bears Ears, it additionally established the Bears Ears Fee, which is an unbiased physique with representatives from the 5 tribes that petitioned the federal government to ascertain the nationwide monument. These are the Navajo, the Hopi, the Zuni, the Ute Mountain Ute, and the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. Bears Ears is culturally and spiritually essential to these 5 tribes. The concept behind the fee was that it might assist advise and information federal coverage on Bears Ears and mainly have a seat on the desk.
This month’s government order overturns that mannequin. It expands the advisory committee for Bears Ears to fifteen folks. 5 of these would be the tribal representatives, 4 will probably be drawn from native and county authorities, and 6 will probably be immediately appointed by the governor, with the concept they’ll come from teams corresponding to cattle ranchers, personal landowners, and off-road automobile operators. Now, as a result of a variety of these teams, corresponding to native governments and the governor of Utah, have usually been towards sustaining protections for Bears Ears, it may actually, actually change how the monument is managed.
4. Native opinion on Bears Ears is blended, way more than you may assume.
Now, that is going to get somewhat sophisticated, so bear with me. One of many main arguments towards Bears Ears has been that it was designated over the objections of locals, and in some instances, that’s arguably true. The governments of three native cities, Bluff, Blanding, and Monticello, have been fairly constantly towards sustaining protections for Bears Ears as a nationwide monument. San Juan County, the place the monument is positioned, has been usually, although not at all times—I’ll get into that later—towards Bears Ears as a nationwide monument.
However that’s not the entire story. Each time we speak about native opinion and the outside, we’ve got to cope with this query of who will get to be a neighborhood, and on this case, this can be a fairly fraught situation. For one factor, Bears Ears abuts the land of a number of of the tribes that lobbied for it to be created. The Navajo Nation kind of immediately borders it, as does a part of the Ute Mountain Ute reservation. The opposite three tribes have deep historic ties to the realm. These tribal governments petitioned the federal government to create Bears Ears and, when it was shrunk, joined a lawsuit to revive it to its unique measurement.
Then there’s the query of how far-off you will get and nonetheless count on to have a voice in how one thing like that is managed. Bears Ears is positioned in San Juan County, however the monument has a variety of help in Grand County, which is the following county north. Moab, which is the county seat, is positioned basically on the road between the 2. It’s a few two-hour drive from Bears Ears, which can sound like loads, however by southern Utah requirements, that’s actually the following city over.
The federal government of Grand County has been fairly firmly in favor of Bears Ears. The financial system there’s primarily based largely round outside recreation, and BLM lands like Bears Ears are a fairly large a part of how that works. And even San Juan County, the place Bears Ears is positioned, has not at all times been towards the monument. Management of the county fee has flipped a few occasions since its creation. In 2018, a voting rights lawsuit compelled the county to redraw its electoral districts and resulted within the election of the county’s first-ever majority-Navajo fee. Following that, the county switched to supporting the designation of Bears Ears, and when President Biden was elected, truly referred to as on him to revive it to its unique measurement.
Utah as a complete, whereas the state authorities and its congressional delegation have fought towards the designation of Bears Ears, there’s some motive to consider that the typical resident of Utah is considerably extra in favor of it. In a ballot commissioned by an environmental nonprofit final 12 months, 71 p.c of Utah voters mentioned that they supported conserving Bears Ears as a nationwide monument. That’s a fairly spectacular margin.
5. That is most likely going to be settled in court docket.
When the Trump administration first shrank Bears Ears in 2017, they have been sued by a fairly large coalition of various plaintiffs. These included a number of environmental nonprofits, the 5 tribes that had lobbied for Bears Ears to be created, and Patagonia. Now, these lawsuits have been nonetheless ongoing when President Biden got here into workplace and restored Bears Ears, they usually have been fairly rapidly rendered moot. And whereas not all of these litigants have dedicated to going again to court docket, no less than just a few have informed us they are going to. Amongst others, Earthjustice and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance informed Backpacker that they intend to sue.
Their argument is that the Antiquities Act permits presidents to create nationwide monuments, however to not shrink or rescind them. And authorized consultants we’ve talked to have mentioned that whereas a plain studying of the textual content of the statute does appear to agree with that, courts have additionally been fairly deferential to presidential energy prior to now, so there’s no telling which manner these fits may go.
We’ve been following the modifications at Bears Ears for a decade now, and we don’t plan on stopping anytime quickly. When you’d wish to study the newest about what’s taking place to America’s nationwide monuments, you’ll be able to go to backpacker.com. Till subsequent time, I’m editor-in-chief Adam Roy.
