Defenders of Wildlife condemns the Trump administration’s egregious attempt to virtually eliminate Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, reducing the monuments’ boundaries by over 90%. This is the second attempt by the Trump administration to shrink these National Monuments. In 2017, President Trump attempted to cut boundaries for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante by 87% and 45%, respectively. Protections for both monuments were restored by President Biden in 2021.
Defenders of Wildlife’s federal lands director of national forests and public lands program Vera Smith emphasized the distinctiveness of the targeted monuments and their significance to Native Nations and wildlife:
“The Bears Ears and Grand Staircase landscapes are like no other and are irreplaceable. These National Monuments, that are so important to Indigenous people and wildlife, such as the Southwestern willow flycatcher and Mexican spotted owl, deserve the highest levels of protection for perpetuity. Instead, the Trump administration is disrespectfully and recklessly dismantling them for corporate exploitation. We urge the administration to reconsider this decision and reverse course before lasting damage is done.”
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For nearly 80 years, Defenders of Wildlife has worked to protect and restore America’s wildlife at risk of extinction, advancing a vision of a future in which wildlife thrives, sustained by broad public support and a resilient network of healthy lands and waters. With a network of more than 2 million supporters, Defenders is an advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard wildlife for generations to come. To learn more, please visit https://defenders.org/newsroom or follow us on Instagram @defendersofwildlife.
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