Mining claims appeared after Trump shrank 2 Utah national monuments |
No active mining claims can begin in Bears Ears National Monument in Utah before Sept. 11, 2026.
After President Donald Trump stripped nearly 3 million acres of land from two national monuments last month, it took less than 24 hours for private companies to file mining claims on the newly unprotected land, according to documents reviewed by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.
On July 13, Donald Trump issued a pair of executive orders that reduced the collective footprint of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by more than 90%. The decision immediately sparked protests across Utah where the monuments are located, along with fears that the lands would soon be developed without monument designations.
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The following day, on July 14, Utah-based Kimmerle Mining filed seven mining claims in an area that previously fell inside Bears Ears, while on Aug. 6, an individual named Craig Rosequist filed two claims inside the former boundaries of Grand Staircase-Escalante.
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