1 of 4 | President Donald Trump speaks during an executive order signing related to the transferring of federal land in the state of Utah in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on Monday, July 13, 2026. The orders reduced Utah's Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, opening the door to possible drilling, mining and other development on formerly protected lands. Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo
July 14 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump has signed a pair of executive orders shrinking two southern Utah national monuments by more than a million acres each, sparking anger from environmentalists who say the moves will open the formerly protected lands to exploration.
The executive orders reduce the size of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument from 1.87 million acres to about 181,500 acres and the Bears Ears National Monument from 1.36 million acres to 121,100 acres. Both are located in redrock country.
Trump signed the orders on Monday in the Oval Office while surrounded by Utah's Republican leadership, including Gov. Spencer Cox, Sens. Mike Lee and John Curtis and several GOP House representatives.
"This is a big day for Utah," Cox said.
