President Trump rolls back national monument protections.
WASHINGTON — In response to illegally eviscerated protections for Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by Executive Orders of President Trump, Olivia Juarez, GreenLatinos Public Land Program Director, issues the following statement:
“Tribal nations involved in protecting Bears Ears National Monument and Grand-Staircase Escalante National Monument are taking public land management in a better direction. Under the leadership of the Bears Ears Commission and Grand-Staircase Escalante Inter-Tribal Coalition, tribal nations are working to secure a thriving future for our children in the face of climate disaster, ensure all can recreate in these places with respect, and help federal agencies do their best work caring for our public lands that contain innumerable Tribal resources.
Trump took an illegal, unilateral action today to undermine these national monuments supported by the American majority. This is nothing more than grasping at straws to undermine the U.S. Federal Government's legal obligation to consult with Tribal nations. We call on Secretary Burgum to listen to Tribes.”
Background Information
Bears Ears Commission is an intergovernmental body comprised of the Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, and the Pueblo of Zuni. The Bears Ears Commission, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management collaborate to coordinate stewardship of Bears Ears National Monument. This collaboration was formalized in an Inter-Governmental Cooperative Agreement between these bodies in 2022 after the Commission was established in 2021.
The Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal Coalition comprises the Hopi Tribe, Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Navajo Nation, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and the Zuni Tribe. Formed in 2025, the Inter-Tribal Coalition advocates for the long-term protection of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument for present and future generations.
Bears Ears National Monument was established by presidential proclamation of Barack Obama in 2016; Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was established by presidential proclamation of Bill Clinton in 1996. These monuments respectively protect 1.36 and 1.9 million acres of public land in southern Utah that is sacred to numerous Tribal Nations.
In 2017, President Trump signed an executive order dismantling protections for these national monuments as well as Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, leaving more than one million acres of public land containing unique archeological sites, irreplaceable cultural sites, and critical flora and fauna vulnerable to mining claims and other destructive activities.
In 2021, by two presidential proclamations, President Biden restored the original Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument area and Bears Ears National Monument. Both national monuments have complete and formal resource management plans supported by the Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal Coalition and the Bears Ears Commission for the respective national monuments of interest, as well as millions nationwide. A challenge to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Resource Management Plan through use of the Congressional Review Act failed in 2026.
The Latino Climate Justice Framework, a comprehensive guide for addressing the climate crisis and serving the needs of Latino/a/e communities across the country, calls for Tribal co-management or co-stewardship of public lands.
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