President Donald Trump has signed new orders to significantly reduce the size of two national monuments in Utah. The orders target Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears, cutting their sizes by over a million acres each. The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument will now be reduced from around 1.87 million acres to approximately 181,500 acres.
This decision may lead to opportunities for exploring minerals, oil, and gas within these previously protected areas. The orders aim to open these lands, which include vast wilderness and areas sacred to tribal communities, to potential industrial development.
The president’s move has been met with various reactions, reflecting the ongoing debate over land use and conservation efforts in the United States.
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