On July 13, 2026, presidential proclamations cut Bears Ears National Monument from about 1,360,000 acres to about 121,096 acres and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument from about 1,863,847 acres to about 181,541 acres. This page maps every boundary era since designation, tracks each lawsuit challenging the cuts, and keeps a sourced timeline of the fight, updated continuously.
On July 13, President Trump cut two of America's most significant national monuments to a tenth of their size, stripping protection from 2,921,210 acres of public land and leaving just 302,637 acres protected. This page tracks the fight over those lands as it happens.
July 13, 2026: both monuments are cut to roughly a tenth of their size, the deepest reductions ever ordered on any national monument.
2026 boundaries are approximate, digitized from the BLM-sourced map; official GIS is not yet published.
The Basics
On July 13, 2026, President Trump signed two proclamations that stripped national monument protection from nearly 3 million acres in southern Utah. Bears Ears drops from about 1,360,000 acres to 121,096. Grand Staircase-Escalante drops from about 1.86 million acres to 181,541. That is roughly a 90 percent cut to each, deeper than the reductions Trump ordered in 2017. About 60 days later, on or around September 11, 2026, the excluded lands reopen to new mining claims and mineral leasing.
Clinton created Grand Staircase-Escalante in 1996 and Obama created Bears Ears in 2016 at the request of five tribes, Trump cut both in 2017 and Biden restored them in 2021, and on July 13, 2026 Trump cut them again, far deeper this time. See the full timeline ↓
Bears Ears
91 percent stripped
Grand Staircase-Escalante
90 percent stripped
Bears Ears was the first national monument requested and co-managed by tribes. Five nations, the Navajo Nation, Hopi, Ute Mountain Ute, Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray, and Zuni, asked for it and shared its management through the Bears Ears Commission. The July 13 proclamation also moves to disband that commission, ending the tribes’ formal role. NARF↗
These are some of the densest archaeological areas in the country. Bears Ears holds more than 100,000 known archaeological sites, and Grand Staircase holds thousands of sacred sites, petroglyphs, and ancestral homes. Most of that now sits outside the monument boundaries. KUER↗
The lands cut loose reopen to extraction. On or around September 11, 2026 the excluded acres become available for new mining claims and mineral leasing, in a region that holds uranium and copper near Bears Ears and an estimated 11 billion tons of coal near Grand Staircase. The Land Desk↗
The core legal question has never been answered. The Antiquities Act clearly lets a president create a monument, but courts have never ruled on whether a president can shrink or erase one. The 2017 version of this fight ended before a judge decided it, so this could be the case that finally settles how far the power goes. Bloomberg Law↗
Nobody knows for certain, because no court has ever ruled on it. The Antiquities Act of 1906 plainly gives presidents the power to create national monuments, but it says nothing about taking one apart. Tribes and conservation lawyers argue the power to create does not include the power to destroy, and that question is now headed back to court. Earthjustice↗
The proclamations take effect immediately, but the excluded acres do not open to industry right away. About 60 days later, on or around September 11, 2026, those lands become available for new mining claims and mineral leasing, along with grazing, timber, and motorized use. Existing rights and prior land withdrawals still apply. The Land Desk↗
Most of both monuments. Bears Ears shrinks to a set of small islands around 121,096 acres, leaving the majority of its 100,000-plus archaeological sites outside the boundary. Grand Staircase shrinks to 181,541 acres, cutting loose wilderness study areas, dark-sky country, and thousands of cultural sites, including areas over known coal deposits. KUER↗
No, it goes further. In 2017 Trump cut Bears Ears by about 85 percent and halved Grand Staircase. These 2026 proclamations take each monument down by roughly 90 percent, the deepest reductions either has faced. This time the Bears Ears proclamation also moves to dissolve the tribal commission. GearJunkie↗
The five Bears Ears tribes, the Native American Rights Fund, Earthjustice, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, and other conservation groups have said the cuts are illegal and expect to sue. Their argument is that the Antiquities Act lets a president designate monuments, not dismantle them. A separate Tenth Circuit ruling in June 2026 already found that courts are allowed to review monument decisions. NARF↗
Learn the specifics and follow the lawsuits as they get filed, because this fight will be decided in court over months, not days. Track the case status and the groups directly involved below, and sign up to be notified when the comment periods open. This tracker keeps the numbers, boundaries, and case status current as things move.
The most useful thing you can do right now: get an alert the moment a federal comment period opens on these monuments, through the Public Lands Action Network.
Monitoring courts · Federal Register · pressrooms
Every development in the fight, as it lands. Automated monitoring drafts entries from primary sources; nothing posts without a working source link.
Auto-refreshes while you read · full history in the record
This is what protection was stripped from.
Bears Ears + Grand Staircase-Escalante · filmed by More Than Just Parks
In the Courts
The 2017 cuts drew lawsuits within a week and were never resolved on the merits. The 2026 cuts are headed the same way. Every case challenging them, and where each one stands.
Not yet filed; venue to be determined
SUWA pledged on July 13, 2026 that it will challenge this unlawful decision in federal court, and Earthjustice said it is prepared to vigorously defend the monuments once again, as it did on behalf of nine conservation groups in 2017. As of July 15, 2026 no complaint over the new proclamations appears on public dockets.
Not yet filed; venue to be determined
Press reports say the tribes and their partners have vowed legal action over the reduction and the termination of the Bears Ears Commission, echoing their 2017 suit, which remains stayed in the D.C. district court. The Commission's July 14 statement stressed broken consultation commitments but did not formally announce a filing, and no 2026 complaint is on public dockets as of July 15, 2026.
The Coalition
Five organizations are leading the legal and public fight to reverse the cuts. They carried the 2017 challenge. Here is who they are, what they do, and where to back them.
The five nations
Navajo, Hopi, Ute Mountain Ute, Ute Indian Tribe, and Zuni. They asked for Bears Ears in 2016 and co-managed it. The July 13 proclamation moves to disband their commission.
Support the CoalitionTribal legal counsel
Represents the tribes on Bears Ears. Called the cuts illegal and is preparing the tribal challenge to the proclamations.
Support NativeLead litigators
Carried the 2017 lawsuits for both monuments. Has said it will sue over the 2026 cuts on behalf of a conservation coalition.
Support EarthjusticeOn-the-ground defenders
The lead redrock watchdog. A plaintiff in the 2017 Bears Ears case and a committed challenger to the 2026 reductions. MTJP has published in collaboration with SUWA.
Support SouthernRegional advocates
Longtime Colorado Plateau conservation group working the Grand Staircase and Bears Ears fights alongside the coalition.
Support GrandThe Record
Designation, reduction, restoration, and reduction again. Every entry links to its source.
As of September 24, 2026, at least 72 new mining claims had been staked in areas cut from Bears Ears National Monument by the 2026 proclamation, including uranium-bearing lands in White Canyon. The Grand Canyon Trust documents seven specific places stripped of monument protection, including Grand Gulch, North and South Sixshooter Peaks, Indian Creek Falls, Mt. Linnaeus, the Dugway, and the Cream Pots.
grandcanyontrust.orgLee added a GAO opinion on the Bears Ears Monument Management Plan to the Congressional Record, triggering the Congressional Review Act process that allows a resolution of disapproval to be introduced and passed by simple majority in both chambers. If signed into law, the move would void the management plan developed through years of tribal-federal collaboration and block a substantially similar plan from being enacted in the future.
suwa.orgThirteen claims were filed by Kimmerle Mining and three by George W. Schultz in the Lockhart Basin and Easy Peasy Mine areas of lands removed from Bears Ears National Monument, all recorded by noon on September 11, 2026, sixty days after Trump's proclamation. Kimmerle Mining had previously attempted to file seven claims illegally on July 14, 2026, before the deadline had elapsed.
suwa.orgAn August 2026 survey of 500 registered Utah voters by Republican firm New Bridge Strategy found 66% support restoring greater protections to all land previously in both monuments, and 82% say tribes should have a strong role managing culturally significant public lands. Majorities across party lines opposed the July 13 termination of the Bears Ears Commission by more than three to one.
grandcanyontrust.orgOn August 10, 2026, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Rep. Maxine Deeter (D-OR) launched an investigation into whether Energy Fuels CEO Ross Bhappu used nonpublic information when he purchased 74,000 shares of the company for nearly $1 million less than a week before the July 13 proclamation cutting Bears Ears by more than 90 percent. The purchase represented the largest insider stock buy in company history and increased Bhappu's personal stake by more than 40 percent.
grandcanyontrust.orgThe Bureau of Land Management removed tribal seals and monument signs at Bears Ears National Monument and, by July 28, had removed signs at at least five gateway locations for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Conservation groups said the removals erase visitor safety markers and tribal recognition from public lands.
suwa.orgModifying the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Federal RegisterThe group disputed Trump's claim that hunting and fishing were banned in the monuments, noting both are explicitly allowed and state-managed, and challenged Rep. Maloy's claim of unanimous local opposition, citing polling that 74 percent of Utah voters support keeping Grand Staircase-Escalante protected.
Center for Western PrioritiesSen. Martin Heinrich, ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Trump is turning the Antiquities Act on its head and called issuing the action without government-to-government consultation a slap in the face to tribes.
Los Alamos Daily PostThe boundary reductions reopen more than 2 million acres of federal land to livestock grazing and other multiple-use activities. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association and Public Lands Council welcomed the change, which the administration cast as balancing conservation with traditional land uses.
RFD-TVGrand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal Coalition coordinator Autumn Gillard and Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition leaders said tribes were not informed of or asked about the decision, calling the lack of consultation a violation of federal obligations to tribal nations.
Deseret NewsThe five tribal nations of the Bears Ears Commission said the proclamation terminates the Commission and came without government-to-government consultation, despite a June 2025 written Interior Department commitment to meet with the Commission before any boundary decisions. They said removed lands may reopen to mineral leasing and mining after 60 days.
Bears Ears Commission via PR NewswireThe Babylon Fire, the largest active wildfire in the country, had burned 106,610 acres across San Juan County lands including portions of Bears Ears and was about 50 percent contained when the proclamation was signed. The fire started June 26 and became Utah's first megafire in eight years.
ABC4 UtahEarthjustice managing attorney Heidi McIntosh said the attack on the monuments is just as illegal as it was in 2017 and that Earthjustice and its partners are prepared to defend them again. SUWA pledged a federal court challenge, and NPCA called the order a betrayal and illegal.
EarthjusticeThe Voices
What tribal nations, conservation groups, and elected officials said after July 13, in their own words.
“Bears Ears is part of our history, our stories, and our identity.”
Anthony Sanchez Jr., Head Councilman, Pueblo of Zuni; Bears Ears Commission Co-Chair
Bears Ears Commission (Pueblo of Zuni), July 14, 2026 Source
“As Diné, our connection to Bears Ears is living and ongoing. This landscape holds our prayers, our medicines, and the stories of our ancestors.”
Curtis Yanito, Navajo Nation Council Delegate; Bears Ears Commission Co-Chair
Navajo Nation, July 14, 2026 Source
“No matter what actions the U.S. government takes, we will continue to carry our history forward, build community, and protect this landscape through our traditions and teachings.”
Gwen Cantsee, Vice Chairwoman, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, July 14, 2026 Source
“The Hopi Tribe remains ready to work government-to-government to protect this sacred landscape for our children, our grandchildren and all future generations.”
Mikah Kewanimptewa, Vice Chairman, Hopi Tribe
Hopi Tribe, July 14, 2026 Source
“President Trump's attack on Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments is just as illegal today as it was in 2017.”
Heidi McIntosh, Managing Attorney, Rocky Mountain Office
Earthjustice, July 13, 2026 Source
“The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance is committed to defending the monuments and will challenge this unlawful decision in federal court.”
Scott Braden, Executive Director
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, July 13, 2026 Source
“The Antiquities Act was never meant to be a tool for locking up millions of acres with the stroke of a pen.”
Derek Brown, Utah Attorney General
State of Utah, July 13, 2026 Source
“Today's proclamation shows that President Trump listens to Utahns and respects the limits Congress placed on the Antiquities Act.”
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah)
Office of Sen. Mike Lee, July 13, 2026 Source
“History is clear: when monuments are designated, livestock grazing is removed, and landscape health and communities suffer.”
Kaitlynn Glover, NCBA Executive Director of Natural Resources and PLC Executive Director
National Cattlemen's Beef Association and Public Lands Council, July 14, 2026 Source
The Coverage
More Than Just Parks has photographed, filmed, and covered these lands for years. The coverage behind this tracker.
The 2017 cuts were reversed because people refused to accept them: in court, in Congress, and in public. Here is what actually moves the needle right now.
Two minutes
Congress can protect these boundaries permanently, and offices tally every constituent call. Use the script or say it your way.
Hello, my name is [your name] and I am a constituent. On July 13 the President cut Bears Ears National Monument by 91 percent and Grand Staircase-Escalante by 90 percent, stripping protection from nearly 3 million acres of public land. Those lands open to new mining claims on September 11. I am asking [name] to publicly oppose the reductions and to support permanent legislative protection for both monuments. Thank you for your time.
The court fight
Five organizations are leading the legal and public fight, from the five tribal nations to the lawyers who carried the 2017 case. Their donation links are where support goes furthest right now.
Public Lands Action Network
No federal comment period is open on these monuments yet. When the agencies open one, it lands in PLAN with the deadline, the docket, and a comment you can send in a minute. Get on the list now so you are there the day it opens.
