On December 1, 2017, America faced the largest rollback of federal land protection in the history of the nation.  Bear Ears National Monument, a massive expanse of red rock canyons in the heart of Utah, has been scaled back by nearly 2 million acres in an executive decision made by President Trump.  The monument has now been reduced in size by nearly 85%, and on top of that, Mr. Trump also reduced another Utah monument- the Grand Staircase-Escalante- by half.  This decision is the result of the Republican push for looser restrictions on development in publicly owned national parks.  Protections and reservations placed upon such land by Democratic forerunners are now in the process of being reversed, as Trump’s administration aims to allow mining and drilling in the formerly protected region.  

As one can imagine, Trump’s decision was quickly met with opposition, with at least one lawsuit already having been filed against the rollback on Monday morning.  Unlike national parks, national monuments are protected by the executive branch under the Antiquities Act, rather than by Congress.  Bears Ears National Monument was established under the Antiquities Act by President Obama in 2016, due to lobbying efforts by the Navajo, Hopi, Ute Mountain Ute, Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, and Zuni regional tribes.  Many groups, particularly Democratic Conservationists, have expressed their concern that the monument reduction will jeopardize the autonomy of other monuments, allowing the Antiquities Act to be disregarded in favor of opening more land to commercial use.  Numerous western native nations have also interjected, claiming that the use of Bear Ears for oil extraction will not only be damaging to the environment, but also to countless historical sites.  This may include cliff dwellings, burial grounds, and even sacred native ceremonial sites.  

On the opposing side, many supporters of the rollback maintain that the move will improve the economic health of poorer communities, who could depend on coal mining, logging, and oil/gas extraction projects for jobs.  Some argue that the protection of so much land is federal overreach, stemming the potential flow of revenue to western regions.  The move will be beneficial for fossil fuel companies, as well as for the state government of Utah, who will now possess more land control.  However, while this action does give more control to the state, it further removes the limited control given to native communities over regions that originally belonged to them. Yet President Trump states that the area lacks “unique…significant scientific or historical interest”, and therefore its primary value lies in extraction of fossil fuel.      

The shrinkage of the monument from 1.35 million acres to less than 200,000 will continue to be heavily debated into 2018, including a dispute over whether or not Trump can even legally reverse the Antiquities Act set in motion by his predecessors.  Until then, it seems the battle between fossil fuel companies and environmentalists will remain unresolved, and the fate of America’s national monuments will hang in the balance.