That law passed by Congress gives U.S. presidents the authority to designate or set aside land as monuments to protect objects of historic, cultural or scientific interest in the smallest area “compatible” with their care and management. The abrupt 1996 designation of Grand Staircase-Escalante roiled Utah’s political leaders, who 20 years later vigorously objected to the creation of the Bears Ears monument.
Amy Joi O’Donoghue
SALT LAKE CITY — Bears Ears National Monument’s boundaries likely will be reduced to between 100,000 and 300,000 acres, and Grand Staircase-Escalante could end up anywhere from 700,000 to 1.2 million acres, a top staffer in Sen. Orrin Hatch’s office said.
Ron Dean, the central and eastern Utah director in Hatch’s office, briefed the Utah Legislature’s Commission for the Stewardship of Public Lands in a Tuesday meeting on President Donald Trump’s plans to reduce the size of the monuments.
Dean was quick to emphasize that his acreage numbers are “really grapevine,” but also come with some certainty. If the boundary revisions fall outside those parameters, he said, “my rumors are bad rumors.”
In the case of the 1.35-million acre Bears Ears, designated as a national monument last December by former President Barack Obama, the reduction would be significant. Grand Staircase, at nearly 1.9 million acres, would potentially be less impacted, but critics have said no reductions are acceptable.
The boundary revisions are poised to happen after Trump directed Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to conduct a review of controversial monument designations to determine whether those previous presidential declarations fell within the scope of the 1906 Antiquities Act.
That law passed by Congress gives U.S. presidents the authority to designate or set aside land as monuments to protect objects of historic, cultural or scientific interest in the smallest area “compatible” with their care and management.
The abrupt 1996 designation of Grand Staircase-Escalante roiled Utah’s political leaders, who 20 years later vigorously objected to the creation of the Bears Ears monument.
This fall, Zinke delivered to Trump his recommendations, which have not been officially released. A leaked copy of the report indicated four monuments — two in Utah — should have boundary revisions.
Last week, Hatch said he received a phone call from Trump indicating he would shrink both monuments. Trump’s press secretary said the president will visit Utah in early December.
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