President Trump announced Monday in Salt Lake City that he will reduce the size of Utah's Bears Ears National Monument by roughly 84 percent and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by nearly half. The pair of moves amounts to what environmental advocates call the largest-ever rollback of protected land, The Hill reports.
The Bears Ears monument was designated by former President Barack Obama in late 2016, after indigenous peoples fought for its recognition, The New York Times explains. Its protected land spans 1.3 million acres. Trump's decision to shrink the monument had been widely anticipated and is expected to trigger a legal fight by the five tribes who originally lobbied the Obama administration — the Navajo Nation, Ute Indian Tribe, Pueblo of Zuni, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and Hopi — for its protection. (Grand Staircase-Escalante was designated by former President Bill Clinton in 1996.)
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Grindr 'shared user HIV status' with ad firms, lawsuit claimsSpeed Read LGBTQ dating app accused of breaching UK data protection laws in case filed at London's High Court
-
The best dog-friendly hotels around the UKThe Week Recommends Take a break with your four-legged friend in accommodation that offers you both a warm welcome
-
Shopping trolleys: the new must-have accessorySpeed Read Sales are soaring as new designs help shed that old-fashioned image
-
Ukraine cheers House approval of military aidSpeed Read Following a lengthy struggle, the House has approved $95 billion in aid for Ukraine and Israel
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spiesSpeed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
-
Israel hits Iran with retaliatory airstrikeSpeed Read The attack comes after Iran's drone and missile barrage last weekend
-
Peter Murrell: Sturgeon's husband charged over SNP 'embezzlement' claimsSpeed Read SNP expresses 'shock' as former chief executive rearrested in long-running investigation into claims of mishandled campaign funds
-
Mark Menzies: Tories investigate MP after 'bad people' cash claimsSpeed Read Fylde MP will sit as an independent while party looks into allegations he misused campaign funds on medical expenses and blackmail pay-out
-
Why Johnson won't just pass Ukraine aidSpeed Read The House Speaker could have sent $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine — but it would have split his caucus
-
Sudan on brink of collapse after a year of warSpeed Read 18 million people face famine as the country continues its bloody downward spiral
-
Trump's first criminal trial starts with jury picksSpeed Read The former president faces charges related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels
