By Gram Slattery and Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump signed orders on Monday that slashed the size of two national monuments in southern Utah by more than 90% to allow for grazing, motorized recreation, logging and other resource development in the region, the White House said.
The proclamations reduced the Bears Ears National Monument to 121,100 acres (49,000 hectares) from 1.36 million acres, and cut the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to 181,500 acres from 1.87 million acres.
Environmental group Earthjustice said it would take legal action “to maintain protections for these treasured landscapes.”
Trump made the announcement at the White House alongside Utah Governor Spencer Cox and the state’s two U.S. senators, Mike Lee and John Curtis, all Republicans.
“We’re doing something very dramatic and very important for the people of Utah, and the people of our country, because many people use it,” Trump said.
Trump reduced the size of the monuments during his first term, and they were later expanded by former President Joe Biden despite opposition from Utah state officials.
Bears Ears was established by former President Barack Obama in 2016. The monument, named for twin buttes that resemble a bear’s head on the horizon, is home to cultural and archaeological sites that are sacred to several Native American tribes.
Grand Staircase-Escalante was established in 1996 by former President Bill Clinton. Numerous dinosaur fossils have been found in the monument, known for its colorful rock formations, over the last two decades.
Trump has previously dismissed the importance of environmental and cultural conservation projects.
Senator Martin Heinrich, a Democrat whose state, New Mexico, borders southern Utah, criticized the president’s move.
“Time and again, this administration has put the interests of billionaires and powerful industries ahead of America’s public lands and the people who own them,” Heinrich said in a statement.
“And once again, they’re ignoring Tribal voices, sidelining local communities, and threatening places that belong to every American.”
(Reporting by Gram Slattery and Kanishka Singh in Washington and Nichola Groom in Los Angeles; Editing by Sonali Paul and Jamie Freed)
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