The Wilderness Society warns of a broader assault on America’s public lands
The Wilderness Society projected "SOLD: Bears Ears" onto the Department of Interior headquarters in DC
AP
Giveaway of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante are part of a larger effort to weaken public lands protections in favor of industrial development.
WASHINGTON, D.C. [July 16, 2026] — The Wilderness Society projected the words “SOLD: Bears Ears” and “SOLD: Grand Staircase-Escalante” onto the Department of the Interior headquarters late Wednesday, warning of the administration’s broader efforts to weaken protections for America’s public lands and prioritize industrial development in the wake of Monday’s dismantling of two Utah national monuments.
The projection also displayed “Stand with Bears Ears” and “Stand with Grand Staircase-Escalante,” calling on the American public to stand with Tribal Nations and members of Congress working to restore protections for the two monuments.
"President Trump sold out Tribal Nations, Utahns and the American people,” said Axie Navas, Designations Director with The Wilderness Society, “With a stroke of his pen from Washington, D.C., some 2,000 miles away, he gutted Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments with no Tribal consultation or public process. This ignores the wishes of voters throughout the West who overwhelmingly support these monuments. While this is a setback, it's not the end. We will fight to restore these protections and defend the freedom to hunt, hike, fish – and yes, even walk — in these remarkable places for this generation and the next.”
President Trump on Monday, backed by Utah’s congressional delegation and Gov. Spencer Cox, signed proclamations slashing Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by about 90 percent, from roughly 1.87 million acres to about 181,500 acres, and Bears Ears National Monument by about 91 percent, from roughly 1.36 million acres to about 121,100 acres. It is one of the largest giveaways of public land protections in U.S. history, exceeding even the rollbacks Trump made to the same monuments during this first administration.
The proclamations cite reduced agency budgets as justification for shrinking the monuments. However, this administration is the one that made those cuts, leaving those agencies underfunded. Land removed from the monuments will become eligible for oil, gas, coal and geothermal leasing, new mining claims, and sale or disposal starting September 11, 2026. The rollbacks remove protections from Grand Staircase-Escalante's internationally significant fossil beds where scientists have identified dozens of dinosaur species new to science since the monument's 1996 designation. Despite these discoveries, the president's proclamation claims the area lacks "particular historic or scientific interest."
For media inquiries, contact Chelsi Moy, cmoy@tws.org
