Trump Delays a Fight on Presidential Power
In addition to about 1.35 million acres of federal land, Bears Ears National Monument’s boundary encompasses about 109,000 acres of land owned by the state of Utah and 12,600 acres held by private landowners.
Source: Bureau of Land Management
Just before leaving office, President Barack Obama issued an executive order bestowing national monument status on 1.35 million acres of remote, rugged desert in southeast Utah called Bears Ears. The federal government already controlled the land, but by making it a national monument, Obama shielded it from future commercial development or mining.
That didn’t go over so well among Utah Republicans. Immediately, the state’s GOP congressional delegation began arguing that the Bears Ears designation was made against local wishes and without local input. Even before Donald Trump took office, Representatives Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz began lobbying him to reverse the order.