Trump Order Shrinks Grand Staircase, Bears Ears National Monuments
Is this a case of smart stewardship or a corporate land giveaway?
Above: Bears Ears National Monument in Utah on April 22. Image credit: George Frey/Getty Images
The Spin
Republican narrative
Trump has made the right call. Monuments spanning millions of acres violate the Antiquities Act's own requirement to protect the smallest area necessary. Sprawling designations spread agencies too thin, harm the resources they claim to protect and shut out the ranchers, tribes and local communities who actually live with these lands. Focused boundaries mean better stewardship, not less of it.
Democratic narrative
Cutting nearly 3 million acres from these monuments hands sacred Indigenous homelands to uranium miners and coal companies. The boundary lines even literally tracked industry maps. Tribal nations weren't even consulted before the administration disbanded their co-stewardship framework. This is a giveaway dressed up in bureaucratic language.
