改造大阶梯-埃斯卡兰特国家纪念碑
来源：白宫 (White House) | 时间：2026-07-14
美利坚合众国总统公告 1996 年 9 月 18 日，为了防止在 Kaiparowits 高原开发大量煤炭储量和其他资源，克林顿总统发布了 6920 号公告，在犹他州建立了大阶梯-埃斯卡兰特国家纪念碑（纪念碑），保留了大约 1.7 […] 该帖子修改了大阶梯-埃斯卡兰特国家纪念碑首先出现在白宫。
总统行动
改造大阶梯-埃斯卡兰特国家纪念碑
公告
2026 年 7 月 13 日
美利坚合众国总统致辞
公告
1996 年 9 月 18 日，为了防止在凯帕罗威茨高原开发大量煤炭储量和其他资源，克林顿总统发布了第 6920 号公告，在犹他州建立了大阶梯-埃斯卡兰特国家纪念碑（纪念碑），保留了约 170 万英亩的联邦土地作为纪念碑的一部分，并指示该纪念碑由内政部下属局管理。土地管理（BLM）。
2017 年 12 月 4 日，我根据《美国法典》（“古物法”）第 54 章第 320301 条行使权力，发布了第 9682 号公告，修改纪念碑的边界，确保妥善管理，并更准确地反映《古物法》的意图。第 9682 号公告从纪念碑上移除了约 860,000 英亩的土地。 2021 年 10 月 8 日，拜登总统发布了第 10286 号公告，将纪念碑的面积增加到约 187 万英亩，这是发布第 9682 号公告之前纪念碑的面积。
《古物法》授权总统宣布位于联邦政府拥有或控制的土地上的历史地标、历史和史前建筑以及其他具有历史或科学意义的物体为国家古迹。 《古物法》进一步要求，作为纪念碑一部分保留的任何土地都应限制在与受保护物体的适当护理和管理相适应的最小区域内。如果总统确定之前的纪念碑公告所确定的结构和物体不再或从未受到《古物法》的保护，则《古物法》允许总统从纪念碑中移除土地并将其恢复到之前的联邦管理状态。确定适当的保护区涉及审查几个因素，包括要保护的物体的独特性和性质、所需保护的性质、其他法律为这些物体提供的保护、可用于管理地块的行政部门和机构资源，以及土地是否更适合其他非纪念碑用途。
10286 号公告存在一些缺陷，值得重新考虑。首先，第 10286 号公告的前提是声称需要保护非历史地标、历史或史前建筑、或具有历史或科学价值的物体。其中包括一长串通用地形和地质特征，例如“广阔而严峻的景观”、“沉积岩层”和“大胆的高原和多彩的悬崖”。第 10286 号公告中描述的这些一般特征不会仅仅因为风景优美而成为值得《古物法》保护的“地标”、“结构”或“具有历史或科学意义的物体”。
其次，第 10286 号公告中确定的某些地标、结构或物体在其他情况下可能具有必要的历史或科学利益，但它们并非纪念碑所独有，而且它们的相对共性表明，在纪念碑内发现的此类物体的具体实例并不具有特殊的历史或科学利益。这些相对常见的物体的例子包括纪念碑内的文化、古生物学和地质资源，这些资源遍布四角地区，有时甚至遍及美国西部。因此，纪念碑保留对于保护非历史地标、历史或史前建筑或其他具有历史或科学价值的物体或可能符合此类条件但足够普遍而无需根据《古物法》进行保护的物品既没有必要也不适当。
第三，由于第 10286 号公告扩大了为纪念碑保留的土地，只是为了保护没有重大历史或科学价值的物体，因此该公告无视《古物法》的要求，即为国家纪念碑保留的联邦土地仅限于“与受保护物体的适当护理和管理相适应的最小区域”。如果保留区经过适当调整，只保护那些根据《古物法》需要保护的物品，那么它的规模就会小得多。
最后，为了保护第 10286 号公告所确定的许多历史或科学物品，没有必要增加土地保留，这些物品已经受到《古物法》之后颁布的联邦法律所提供的加强保护，这些法律保护考古、历史、文化、古生物资源以及植物和动物及其各自的栖息地。这些法律包括 1979 年《考古资源保护法》(16 U.S.C. 470aa–470mm)、《国家历史保护法》(54 U.S.C. 300101 等)、秃鹰和金鹰保护法 (16 U.S.C. 668–668d)、1973 年濒危物种法 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. )、1988 年联邦洞穴资源保护法案 (16 U.S.C. 4301 et seq. )、1976 年联邦土地政策和管理法案 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq. )、候鸟条约法 (16 U.S.C. 703–712)、美洲原住民坟墓保护和1976 年遣返法案（25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.）和古生物资源保护法案（16 U.S.C. 470aaa–470aaa–11）授权 BLM 限制和限制联邦土地上的活动，以保护某些自然和文化资源，无论这些资源位于境内还是境外。
国家纪念碑外。
例如，土地管理局将纪念碑上超过 800,000 英亩的土地作为荒野研究区进行管理，法律要求土地管理局对这些区域进行管理，以免损害其未来被国会指定为荒野的适用性。因此，许多先前被第 10286 号公告指定为古迹的物品已经受到联邦法律的充分保护，并且不需要根据《古物法》保留土地进行保护。
因此，第 10286 号公告设立的纪念碑保留区并不局限于与适当护理和管理那些值得《古物法》保护的物品相兼容的最小区域。相反，可以通过更小、更合适的约 181,541 英亩的保留地，为那些具有历史和科学价值的物体提供适当的护理和管理，该保留地包括两个单元：埃斯卡兰特峡谷单元和凯帕罗威茨地平线单元。以这种方式修改纪念碑的边界将确保根据《古物法》，保留地是与受保护物体的适当护理和管理相适应的最小区域。将纪念碑的边界修改为约 181,541 英亩，还将解决 BLM 土地管理资源和资金的实际限制，确保这些资源和资金足以为纪念碑现在和将来提供适当的护理和管理。
修改边界将使这些公共土地的使用更好地符合公共利益。大阶梯-埃斯卡兰特地区蕴藏着多种对我们的经济和国家安全至关重要的资源。这些资源包括铬、钴、铜、铁、铅、锰、钼、镍、银、钍、钛、铀、钒、锌和锆等多种关键矿物，它们创造就业机会、促进繁荣，对美国国防、制造和运输等重要经济部门至关重要。美国必须不依赖外国资源获取这些资源。修改纪念碑的边界将有助于确保有足够的国内供应，从而减少我们国家构成的威胁
[正文过长，已截取前部进行翻译]
改造大阶梯-埃斯卡兰特国家纪念碑
公告
2026 年 7 月 13 日
美利坚合众国总统致辞
公告
1996 年 9 月 18 日，为了防止在凯帕罗威茨高原开发大量煤炭储量和其他资源，克林顿总统发布了第 6920 号公告，在犹他州建立了大阶梯-埃斯卡兰特国家纪念碑（纪念碑），保留了约 170 万英亩的联邦土地作为纪念碑的一部分，并指示该纪念碑由内政部下属局管理。土地管理（BLM）。
2017 年 12 月 4 日，我根据《美国法典》（“古物法”）第 54 章第 320301 条行使权力，发布了第 9682 号公告，修改纪念碑的边界，确保妥善管理，并更准确地反映《古物法》的意图。第 9682 号公告从纪念碑上移除了约 860,000 英亩的土地。 2021 年 10 月 8 日，拜登总统发布了第 10286 号公告，将纪念碑的面积增加到约 187 万英亩，这是发布第 9682 号公告之前纪念碑的面积。
《古物法》授权总统宣布位于联邦政府拥有或控制的土地上的历史地标、历史和史前建筑以及其他具有历史或科学意义的物体为国家古迹。 《古物法》进一步要求，作为纪念碑一部分保留的任何土地都应限制在与受保护物体的适当护理和管理相适应的最小区域内。如果总统确定之前的纪念碑公告所确定的结构和物体不再或从未受到《古物法》的保护，则《古物法》允许总统从纪念碑中移除土地并将其恢复到之前的联邦管理状态。确定适当的保护区涉及审查几个因素，包括要保护的物体的独特性和性质、所需保护的性质、其他法律为这些物体提供的保护、可用于管理地块的行政部门和机构资源，以及土地是否更适合其他非纪念碑用途。
10286 号公告存在一些缺陷，值得重新考虑。首先，第 10286 号公告的前提是声称需要保护非历史地标、历史或史前建筑、或具有历史或科学价值的物体。其中包括一长串通用地形和地质特征，例如“广阔而严峻的景观”、“沉积岩层”和“大胆的高原和多彩的悬崖”。第 10286 号公告中描述的这些一般特征不会仅仅因为风景优美而成为值得《古物法》保护的“地标”、“结构”或“具有历史或科学意义的物体”。
其次，第 10286 号公告中确定的某些地标、结构或物体在其他情况下可能具有必要的历史或科学利益，但它们并非纪念碑所独有，而且它们的相对共性表明，在纪念碑内发现的此类物体的具体实例并不具有特殊的历史或科学利益。这些相对常见的物体的例子包括纪念碑内的文化、古生物学和地质资源，这些资源遍布四角地区，有时甚至遍及美国西部。因此，纪念碑保留对于保护非历史地标、历史或史前建筑或其他具有历史或科学价值的物体或可能符合此类条件但足够普遍而无需根据《古物法》进行保护的物品既没有必要也不适当。
第三，由于第 10286 号公告扩大了为纪念碑保留的土地，只是为了保护没有重大历史或科学价值的物体，因此该公告无视《古物法》的要求，即为国家纪念碑保留的联邦土地仅限于“与受保护物体的适当护理和管理相适应的最小区域”。如果保留区经过适当调整，只保护那些根据《古物法》需要保护的物品，那么它的规模就会小得多。
最后，为了保护第 10286 号公告所确定的许多历史或科学物品，没有必要增加土地保留，这些物品已经受到《古物法》之后颁布的联邦法律所提供的加强保护，这些法律保护考古、历史、文化、古生物资源以及植物和动物及其各自的栖息地。这些法律包括 1979 年《考古资源保护法》(16 U.S.C. 470aa–470mm)、《国家历史保护法》(54 U.S.C. 300101 等)、秃鹰和金鹰保护法 (16 U.S.C. 668–668d)、1973 年濒危物种法 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. )、1988 年联邦洞穴资源保护法案 (16 U.S.C. 4301 et seq. )、1976 年联邦土地政策和管理法案 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq. )、候鸟条约法 (16 U.S.C. 703–712)、美洲原住民坟墓保护和1976 年遣返法案（25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.）和古生物资源保护法案（16 U.S.C. 470aaa–470aaa–11）授权 BLM 限制和限制联邦土地上的活动，以保护某些自然和文化资源，无论这些资源位于境内还是境外。
国家纪念碑外。
例如，土地管理局将纪念碑上超过 800,000 英亩的土地作为荒野研究区进行管理，法律要求土地管理局对这些区域进行管理，以免损害其未来被国会指定为荒野的适用性。因此，许多先前被第 10286 号公告指定为古迹的物品已经受到联邦法律的充分保护，并且不需要根据《古物法》保留土地进行保护。
因此，第 10286 号公告设立的纪念碑保留区并不局限于与适当护理和管理那些值得《古物法》保护的物品相兼容的最小区域。相反，可以通过更小、更合适的约 181,541 英亩的保留地，为那些具有历史和科学价值的物体提供适当的护理和管理，该保留地包括两个单元：埃斯卡兰特峡谷单元和凯帕罗威茨地平线单元。以这种方式修改纪念碑的边界将确保根据《古物法》，保留地是与受保护物体的适当护理和管理相适应的最小区域。将纪念碑的边界修改为约 181,541 英亩，还将解决 BLM 土地管理资源和资金的实际限制，确保这些资源和资金足以为纪念碑现在和将来提供适当的护理和管理。
修改边界将使这些公共土地的使用更好地符合公共利益。大阶梯-埃斯卡兰特地区蕴藏着多种对我们的经济和国家安全至关重要的资源。这些资源包括铬、钴、铜、铁、铅、锰、钼、镍、银、钍、钛、铀、钒、锌和锆等多种关键矿物，它们创造就业机会、促进繁荣，对美国国防、制造和运输等重要经济部门至关重要。美国必须不依赖外国资源获取这些资源。修改纪念碑的边界将有助于确保有足够的国内供应，从而减少我们国家构成的威胁
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Presidential Actions
MODIFYING THE GRAND STAIRCASE-ESCALANTE NATIONAL MONUMENT
Proclamations
July 13, 2026
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
On September 18, 1996, as part of an effort to prevent development of significant coal reserves and other resources on the Kaiparowits Plateau, President Clinton issued Proclamation 6920, which established the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (Monument) in the State of Utah, reserving approximately 1.7 million acres of Federal lands as part of the Monument, and directing that it be managed by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
On December 4, 2017, exercising my authority under section 320301 of title 54, United States Code (the “Antiquities Act”), I issued Proclamation 9682 to modify the boundaries of the Monument, ensure proper management, and more closely reflect the intent of the Antiquities Act. Proclamation 9682 removed approximately 860,000 acres from the Monument. On October 8, 2021, President Biden issued Proclamation 10286 , increasing the size of the Monument to approximately 1.87 million acres, the size of the Monument immediately prior to the issuance of Proclamation 9682.
The Antiquities Act authorizes the President to declare historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated on land owned or controlled by the Federal Government to be national monuments. The Antiquities Act further requires that any parcel of land reserved as part of a monument be confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected. Where the President determines that the structures and objects identified by a prior monument proclamation no longer are, or never were, deserving of the Antiquities Act’s protections, the Antiquities Act permits the President to remove land from the monument and return it to its prior federally managed status. Determining the appropriate protective area involves examining several factors, including the uniqueness and nature of the objects to be protected, the nature of the protection needed, the protection provided to those objects by other laws, executive department and agency resources available to manage the parcel, and whether the lands are better suited for other non-monument uses.
Proclamation 10286 suffers from several flaws that warrant its reconsideration. First, Proclamation 10286 was premised on the purported need to protect items that are not historic landmarks, historic or prehistoric structures, or objects of historic or scientific interest. This included a long list of generic topographic and geologic features such as “vast and austere landscape[s],” “sedimentary rock layers,” and “bold plateaus and multihued cliffs.” These generic features described in Proclamation 10286 do not become “landmarks,” “structures,” or “objects of historic or scientific interest” worthy of protection under the Antiquities Act simply because they are scenic.
Second, certain landmarks, structures, or objects identified in Proclamation 10286 that could, in other circumstances, have the necessary historic or scientific interest, are not unique to the Monument, and their relative commonness suggests that the specific instances of such objects found within the Monument are not of particular historic or scientific interest. Examples of these relatively common objects include cultural, paleontological, and geological resources within the Monument that are found throughout the Four Corners region and, in some cases, throughout the American West. Accordingly, a monument reservation was neither necessary nor appropriate to protect items that are not historic landmarks, historic or prehistoric structures, or other objects of historic or scientific interest or items that may qualify as such but are sufficiently common to not warrant protection under the Antiquities Act.
Third, because Proclamation 10286 expanded the land reserved for the Monument only to protect objects of no significant historic or scientific interest, that Proclamation disregarded the Antiquities Act’s requirement that the reservation of Federal lands for a national monument be confined to the “smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected.” Had the reservation been properly tailored to protect only those objects warranting protection under the Antiquities Act, it would have been much smaller.
Finally, the added reservation of land was unnecessary to protect many of the objects of historic or scientific identified by Proclamation 10286, which are already subject to the enhanced protections provided under Federal laws enacted after the Antiquities Act that preserve archaeological, historic, cultural, paleontological resources as well as plants and animals, and their respective habitats. These laws, including the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa–470mm), National Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq. ), Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 668–668d), Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. ), Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988 (16 U.S.C. 4301 et seq. ), Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq. ), Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703–712), Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1976 (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq. ), and Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470aaa–470aaa–11), authorize the BLM to limit and condition activities on Federal lands for the protection of certain natural and cultural resources, whether they are within or outside a national monument.
For instance, the BLM manages more than 800,000 acres of the Monument as Wilderness Study Areas, which the BLM is required by law to manage so as not to impair their suitability for future congressional designation as Wilderness. As a result, many of the objects previously designated as monuments by Proclamation 10286 are already adequately protected by Federal law and do not require a reservation of land under the Antiquities Act for protection.
The Monument reservation established by Proclamation 10286 is, therefore, not confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of those objects worthy of the Antiquity Act’s protection. Proper care and management can instead be provided to those objects of historic and scientific interest by a smaller and more appropriate reservation of approximately 181,541 acres comprising two units: the Canyons of the Escalante Unit and Kaiparowits Horizon Unit. Revising the boundaries of the Monument in this way will ensure that, in accordance with the Antiquities Act, the reservation is the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected. Revising the Monument’s boundaries to encompass approximately 181,541 acres will also account for practical limitations on the BLM’s land management resources and funding, ensuring that these remain adequate to provide proper care and management for the Monument now and in the future.
Revising the boundaries will better align the use of these public lands with the public interest. The Grand Staircase-Escalante region contains several resources that are vital to our economic and national security. These resources include several critical minerals, such as chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, silver, thorium, titanium, uranium, vanadium, zinc, and zirconium, create jobs, fuel prosperity, and are essential to important sectors of the economy of the United States, including defense, manufacturing, and transportation. It is imperative that the United States not be dependent on foreign sources of these resources. Modifying the Monument’s boundaries will help ensure that adequate domestic supplies exist, thereby reducing the threat posed by our Nation’s reliance on foreign sources.
The approximately 172,641-acre Canyons of the Escalante Unit contains the heart of the lands that remain within the Monument. Carved by the Escalante River and its tributaries, this area contains objects of historic or scientific interest worthy of protection, including the 130-foot-tall Escalante Natural Bridge. This area also boasts Calf Creek Canyon, a canyon of red alcoved walls with expanses of white slickrock, and other canyons along the Escalante River that contain a high density of Fremont prehistoric sites, including pithouses, villages, and storage cysts, as well as petroglyphs and pictographs, such as the Hundred Hands pictograph panel. The canyon of the Escalante River and its tributary canyons contain one of the highest densities of rock art sites in southwestern Utah outside of Capitol Reef National Park, with sites dating from the Archaic to the Historic periods. There are also historic sites of interest in the area related to grazing and ranching, along with the Boulder Mail Trail, which was used to ferry mail between the small desert outpost towns of Escalante and Boulder beginning in 1902.
Objects of historic and scientific interest can also be found in the approximately 8,900-acre Kaiparowits Horizon Unit. A recently discovered bonebed assemblage has produced rare specimens of theropods, including one of the most complete tyrannosaurid specimens in the region and well-preserved remains of hadrosaurs, turtles, and crocodilians. The site has provided critical insights into the ancient ecosystems of the Western Interior Seaway and the rich diversity of dinosaurs, reptiles, and other vertebrates and is considered a globally important paleontological resource. Accordingly, the establishment of the Kaiparowits Horizon Unit serves not only to properly care for and manage this uniquely intact snapshot of ancient biodiversity and environmental conditions, but also to foster continued research, education, and stewardship of a singular resource for the benefit of future generations.
Accordingly, the area described above and on the accompanying map are the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of those objects identified above, which I have determined in my discretion warrant protection under the Antiquities Act. This modification of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument will maintain and protect those objects and preserve the area’s cultural, scientific, and historic legacy.
WHEREAS, section 320301 of title 54, United States Code, authorizes the President, in his discretion, to declare by public proclamation historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated upon the lands owned or controlled by the Federal Government to be national monuments, and to reserve as a part thereof parcels of land; and
WHEREAS, the Antiquities Act permits the President, in the President’s discretion, to alter a prior declaration of a national monument, including by finding that objects identified in the prior declaration either are no longer deserving of the Antiquities Act’s protections, or never were; and
WHEREAS, many of the items and resources identified by Proclamation 10286 are not historic landmarks, historic structures, or otherwise objects of historic or scientific interest of national importance and, therefore, should not have been declared to be national monuments under the Antiquities Act; and
WHEREAS, many of the resources and objects designated as monuments by Proclamation 10286 do not require a reservation of land to protect them because they are not unique to those areas, were not under threat of damage or destruction before designation, or are sufficiently protected by Federal law; and
WHEREAS, the reservation of land established by Proclamation 10286 was not “the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected;” and
WHEREAS, given the greater budgetary and resource constraints of the BLM than in 2017, the boundaries established by Proclamations 9682 and 10286 encompass areas too vast for the proper care and management of the objects located therein; and
WHEREAS, our Nation’s need to reduce its reliance on foreign sources of several resources vital to our economic and national security, including resources located within the Monument, is greater than it was in 2017, thereby necessitating the exclusion of lands that were retained within the Monument by Proclamation 9682; and
WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to modify the boundaries of the Monument boundary to exclude approximately 1.69 million acres of land that I find are unnecessary for or disadvantageous to the proper care and management of the objects to be protected within the Monument; and
WHEREAS, I find that the boundaries of the Monument as described above and on the accompanying map represent the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects of historic and scientific interest identified above;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by section 320301 of title 54, United States Code, hereby proclaim that the boundaries of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument are hereby modified to include those lands owned or controlled by the Federal Government within the boundaries described on the accompanying map, which is attached to and forms a part of this proclamation. I hereby further proclaim that the modified Monument areas identified on the accompanying map shall be known as the Canyons and Escalante Unit and the Kaiparowits Horizon Unit. These reserved Federal lands encompass approximately 181,541 acres. The boundaries described on the accompanying map are confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected. Any lands reserved by Proclamations 6920, 9682, or 10286 not within the boundaries identified on the accompanying map are hereby excluded from the Monument.
At 9:00 a.m., eastern daylight time, on the date that is 60 days after the date of this proclamation, subject to valid existing rights, the provisions of existing withdrawals, and the requirements of applicable law, the public lands excluded from the Monument reservation shall be open to:
(1) entry, location, selection, sale, or other disposition under the public land laws;
(2) disposition under all laws relating to mineral and geothermal leasing; and
(3) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws.
Appropriation of lands under the mining laws before the date and time of restoration is unauthorized. Any such attempted appropriation, including attempted adverse possession under 30 U.S.C. 38, shall vest no rights against the United States. Acts required to establish a location and to initiate a right of possession are governed by State law, where not in conflict with Federal law.
Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to revoke, modify, or affect any withdrawal, reservation, or appropriation, other than those set forth in Proclamations 6920, 9862 and 10286.
Nothing in this proclamation shall change the management of the areas designated and reserved by Proclamations 6920, 9682, and 10286 that remain part of the Monument in accordance with the terms of this proclamation, except as provided by the following nine paragraphs:
For purposes of providing for the proper care and management of the objects identified above and to facilitate multiple uses that are consistent with the care and management of those objects, the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) shall maintain a management plan for the Monument and shall promulgate such regulations for its management as he deems appropriate. The Secretary, through the BLM, shall consult with other Federal land management agencies or agency components in the local area, including the National Park Service, when developing any management plan. The Secretary shall provide for public involvement in the development of the management plan, including consultation with federally recognized Tribes and State and local governments. In developing and implementing any management plan, the Secretary shall provide opportunities, pursuant to applicable legal authorities, for shared resources, operational efficiency, and cooperation with other Federal land management agencies, State and local governments, and federally recognized Tribes. When preparing a management plan for the Monument, the Secretary shall take into account, to the maximum extent consistent with the proper care and management of the objects identified above, the importance of (1) providing appropriate access for and otherwise facilitating livestock grazing; (2) maintaining; and (3) improving public access, including for recreation and hunting; and providing educational experiences that reflect the diversity of the Monument’s natural and anthropogenic features and their use throughout the region’s history.
Nothing in this proclamation affects the designation, maintenance, and improvement of existing roads and trails within the Monument, which shall continue to be governed by laws and regulations other than this proclamation. The Secretary shall prepare a new transportation plan that endeavors to maximize public access in the Monument through the designation of roads and trails on which motorized and non-motorized vehicle use will be allowed as well as provide for appropriate maintenance of those roads and trails. Pending completion of that transportation plan, the Secretary may allow motorized and non‑motorized vehicle use on roads and trails designated for use before the issuance of Proclamation 6920 and shall maintain roads and trails for such use.
The Secretary shall consider the effects of proposed activities, including potential road closures, on historic roads in the Monument, in accordance with the regulations at 36 C.F.R. part 800, as appropriate.
Consistent with the proper care and management of the objects identified above, the Secretary may authorize ecological restoration and active vegetation management activities in the Monument. When engaging in management planning for the Monument, the Secretary shall consider the full range of vegetation management tools, including mechanical mastication, grazing, and new vegetation management technology that becomes available in the future. Additionally, because noxious weeds and invasive plant species increase wildfire risks, the Secretary may authorize the use of available mechanical, natural, and chemical tools for controlling the proliferation of noxious weed and invasive plant species, and all treatment plans should be developed and implemented in coordination with the Garfield and Kane Counties Weed Boards. Livestock grazing should be utilized as a primary option for mitigating noxious weeds, as well as managing fuels and vegetation.
In recognition of the enduring tradition of livestock grazing in the Monument and its historical and cultural significance to local communities, nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to affect authorizations for livestock grazing, or administration thereof, on Federal lands within the Monument. Livestock grazing within the Monument shall continue to be governed by the laws and regulations other than this Proclamation.
The Secretary shall endeavor to authorize traditional land uses within the Monument, such as grazing, recreation, timber management, public access, and infrastructure development, to the greatest extent possible, consistent with applicable law. Where restrictions on proposed uses are necessary to comply with applicable laws, such restrictions shall be narrowly tailored.
The Secretary shall consider livestock grazing lands in the Monument to constitute a traditional cultural place (TCP) and shall consider how proposed activities will impact that TCP in accordance with the regulation at 36 C.F.R. part 800, as appropriate.
If any livestock grazing permits or leases within the Monument are voluntarily relinquished by existing holders, the Secretary shall, within 1 year, re-allocate the relinquished forage, including by issuing a new permit or lease for the relevant allotment, as appropriate, unless the Secretary specifically finds that such reallocation is inconsistent with the proper care and management of the objects identified above.
If any provision of this proclamation, including its application to a particular parcel of land, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this proclamation shall not be affected thereby. Furthermore, to the extent that any provision of Proclamations 6920, 9682, or 10286 is inconsistent with or contradicts this proclamation, the terms of this proclamation shall govern.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fifty-first.
DONALD J. TRUMP
MODIFYING THE GRAND STAIRCASE-ESCALANTE NATIONAL MONUMENT
Proclamations
July 13, 2026
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
On September 18, 1996, as part of an effort to prevent development of significant coal reserves and other resources on the Kaiparowits Plateau, President Clinton issued Proclamation 6920, which established the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (Monument) in the State of Utah, reserving approximately 1.7 million acres of Federal lands as part of the Monument, and directing that it be managed by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
On December 4, 2017, exercising my authority under section 320301 of title 54, United States Code (the “Antiquities Act”), I issued Proclamation 9682 to modify the boundaries of the Monument, ensure proper management, and more closely reflect the intent of the Antiquities Act. Proclamation 9682 removed approximately 860,000 acres from the Monument. On October 8, 2021, President Biden issued Proclamation 10286 , increasing the size of the Monument to approximately 1.87 million acres, the size of the Monument immediately prior to the issuance of Proclamation 9682.
The Antiquities Act authorizes the President to declare historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated on land owned or controlled by the Federal Government to be national monuments. The Antiquities Act further requires that any parcel of land reserved as part of a monument be confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected. Where the President determines that the structures and objects identified by a prior monument proclamation no longer are, or never were, deserving of the Antiquities Act’s protections, the Antiquities Act permits the President to remove land from the monument and return it to its prior federally managed status. Determining the appropriate protective area involves examining several factors, including the uniqueness and nature of the objects to be protected, the nature of the protection needed, the protection provided to those objects by other laws, executive department and agency resources available to manage the parcel, and whether the lands are better suited for other non-monument uses.
Proclamation 10286 suffers from several flaws that warrant its reconsideration. First, Proclamation 10286 was premised on the purported need to protect items that are not historic landmarks, historic or prehistoric structures, or objects of historic or scientific interest. This included a long list of generic topographic and geologic features such as “vast and austere landscape[s],” “sedimentary rock layers,” and “bold plateaus and multihued cliffs.” These generic features described in Proclamation 10286 do not become “landmarks,” “structures,” or “objects of historic or scientific interest” worthy of protection under the Antiquities Act simply because they are scenic.
Second, certain landmarks, structures, or objects identified in Proclamation 10286 that could, in other circumstances, have the necessary historic or scientific interest, are not unique to the Monument, and their relative commonness suggests that the specific instances of such objects found within the Monument are not of particular historic or scientific interest. Examples of these relatively common objects include cultural, paleontological, and geological resources within the Monument that are found throughout the Four Corners region and, in some cases, throughout the American West. Accordingly, a monument reservation was neither necessary nor appropriate to protect items that are not historic landmarks, historic or prehistoric structures, or other objects of historic or scientific interest or items that may qualify as such but are sufficiently common to not warrant protection under the Antiquities Act.
Third, because Proclamation 10286 expanded the land reserved for the Monument only to protect objects of no significant historic or scientific interest, that Proclamation disregarded the Antiquities Act’s requirement that the reservation of Federal lands for a national monument be confined to the “smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected.” Had the reservation been properly tailored to protect only those objects warranting protection under the Antiquities Act, it would have been much smaller.
Finally, the added reservation of land was unnecessary to protect many of the objects of historic or scientific identified by Proclamation 10286, which are already subject to the enhanced protections provided under Federal laws enacted after the Antiquities Act that preserve archaeological, historic, cultural, paleontological resources as well as plants and animals, and their respective habitats. These laws, including the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa–470mm), National Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq. ), Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 668–668d), Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. ), Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988 (16 U.S.C. 4301 et seq. ), Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq. ), Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703–712), Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1976 (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq. ), and Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470aaa–470aaa–11), authorize the BLM to limit and condition activities on Federal lands for the protection of certain natural and cultural resources, whether they are within or outside a national monument.
For instance, the BLM manages more than 800,000 acres of the Monument as Wilderness Study Areas, which the BLM is required by law to manage so as not to impair their suitability for future congressional designation as Wilderness. As a result, many of the objects previously designated as monuments by Proclamation 10286 are already adequately protected by Federal law and do not require a reservation of land under the Antiquities Act for protection.
The Monument reservation established by Proclamation 10286 is, therefore, not confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of those objects worthy of the Antiquity Act’s protection. Proper care and management can instead be provided to those objects of historic and scientific interest by a smaller and more appropriate reservation of approximately 181,541 acres comprising two units: the Canyons of the Escalante Unit and Kaiparowits Horizon Unit. Revising the boundaries of the Monument in this way will ensure that, in accordance with the Antiquities Act, the reservation is the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected. Revising the Monument’s boundaries to encompass approximately 181,541 acres will also account for practical limitations on the BLM’s land management resources and funding, ensuring that these remain adequate to provide proper care and management for the Monument now and in the future.
Revising the boundaries will better align the use of these public lands with the public interest. The Grand Staircase-Escalante region contains several resources that are vital to our economic and national security. These resources include several critical minerals, such as chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, silver, thorium, titanium, uranium, vanadium, zinc, and zirconium, create jobs, fuel prosperity, and are essential to important sectors of the economy of the United States, including defense, manufacturing, and transportation. It is imperative that the United States not be dependent on foreign sources of these resources. Modifying the Monument’s boundaries will help ensure that adequate domestic supplies exist, thereby reducing the threat posed by our Nation’s reliance on foreign sources.
The approximately 172,641-acre Canyons of the Escalante Unit contains the heart of the lands that remain within the Monument. Carved by the Escalante River and its tributaries, this area contains objects of historic or scientific interest worthy of protection, including the 130-foot-tall Escalante Natural Bridge. This area also boasts Calf Creek Canyon, a canyon of red alcoved walls with expanses of white slickrock, and other canyons along the Escalante River that contain a high density of Fremont prehistoric sites, including pithouses, villages, and storage cysts, as well as petroglyphs and pictographs, such as the Hundred Hands pictograph panel. The canyon of the Escalante River and its tributary canyons contain one of the highest densities of rock art sites in southwestern Utah outside of Capitol Reef National Park, with sites dating from the Archaic to the Historic periods. There are also historic sites of interest in the area related to grazing and ranching, along with the Boulder Mail Trail, which was used to ferry mail between the small desert outpost towns of Escalante and Boulder beginning in 1902.
Objects of historic and scientific interest can also be found in the approximately 8,900-acre Kaiparowits Horizon Unit. A recently discovered bonebed assemblage has produced rare specimens of theropods, including one of the most complete tyrannosaurid specimens in the region and well-preserved remains of hadrosaurs, turtles, and crocodilians. The site has provided critical insights into the ancient ecosystems of the Western Interior Seaway and the rich diversity of dinosaurs, reptiles, and other vertebrates and is considered a globally important paleontological resource. Accordingly, the establishment of the Kaiparowits Horizon Unit serves not only to properly care for and manage this uniquely intact snapshot of ancient biodiversity and environmental conditions, but also to foster continued research, education, and stewardship of a singular resource for the benefit of future generations.
Accordingly, the area described above and on the accompanying map are the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of those objects identified above, which I have determined in my discretion warrant protection under the Antiquities Act. This modification of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument will maintain and protect those objects and preserve the area’s cultural, scientific, and historic legacy.
WHEREAS, section 320301 of title 54, United States Code, authorizes the President, in his discretion, to declare by public proclamation historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated upon the lands owned or controlled by the Federal Government to be national monuments, and to reserve as a part thereof parcels of land; and
WHEREAS, the Antiquities Act permits the President, in the President’s discretion, to alter a prior declaration of a national monument, including by finding that objects identified in the prior declaration either are no longer deserving of the Antiquities Act’s protections, or never were; and
WHEREAS, many of the items and resources identified by Proclamation 10286 are not historic landmarks, historic structures, or otherwise objects of historic or scientific interest of national importance and, therefore, should not have been declared to be national monuments under the Antiquities Act; and
WHEREAS, many of the resources and objects designated as monuments by Proclamation 10286 do not require a reservation of land to protect them because they are not unique to those areas, were not under threat of damage or destruction before designation, or are sufficiently protected by Federal law; and
WHEREAS, the reservation of land established by Proclamation 10286 was not “the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected;” and
WHEREAS, given the greater budgetary and resource constraints of the BLM than in 2017, the boundaries established by Proclamations 9682 and 10286 encompass areas too vast for the proper care and management of the objects located therein; and
WHEREAS, our Nation’s need to reduce its reliance on foreign sources of several resources vital to our economic and national security, including resources located within the Monument, is greater than it was in 2017, thereby necessitating the exclusion of lands that were retained within the Monument by Proclamation 9682; and
WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to modify the boundaries of the Monument boundary to exclude approximately 1.69 million acres of land that I find are unnecessary for or disadvantageous to the proper care and management of the objects to be protected within the Monument; and
WHEREAS, I find that the boundaries of the Monument as described above and on the accompanying map represent the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects of historic and scientific interest identified above;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by section 320301 of title 54, United States Code, hereby proclaim that the boundaries of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument are hereby modified to include those lands owned or controlled by the Federal Government within the boundaries described on the accompanying map, which is attached to and forms a part of this proclamation. I hereby further proclaim that the modified Monument areas identified on the accompanying map shall be known as the Canyons and Escalante Unit and the Kaiparowits Horizon Unit. These reserved Federal lands encompass approximately 181,541 acres. The boundaries described on the accompanying map are confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected. Any lands reserved by Proclamations 6920, 9682, or 10286 not within the boundaries identified on the accompanying map are hereby excluded from the Monument.
At 9:00 a.m., eastern daylight time, on the date that is 60 days after the date of this proclamation, subject to valid existing rights, the provisions of existing withdrawals, and the requirements of applicable law, the public lands excluded from the Monument reservation shall be open to:
(1) entry, location, selection, sale, or other disposition under the public land laws;
(2) disposition under all laws relating to mineral and geothermal leasing; and
(3) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws.
Appropriation of lands under the mining laws before the date and time of restoration is unauthorized. Any such attempted appropriation, including attempted adverse possession under 30 U.S.C. 38, shall vest no rights against the United States. Acts required to establish a location and to initiate a right of possession are governed by State law, where not in conflict with Federal law.
Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to revoke, modify, or affect any withdrawal, reservation, or appropriation, other than those set forth in Proclamations 6920, 9862 and 10286.
Nothing in this proclamation shall change the management of the areas designated and reserved by Proclamations 6920, 9682, and 10286 that remain part of the Monument in accordance with the terms of this proclamation, except as provided by the following nine paragraphs:
For purposes of providing for the proper care and management of the objects identified above and to facilitate multiple uses that are consistent with the care and management of those objects, the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) shall maintain a management plan for the Monument and shall promulgate such regulations for its management as he deems appropriate. The Secretary, through the BLM, shall consult with other Federal land management agencies or agency components in the local area, including the National Park Service, when developing any management plan. The Secretary shall provide for public involvement in the development of the management plan, including consultation with federally recognized Tribes and State and local governments. In developing and implementing any management plan, the Secretary shall provide opportunities, pursuant to applicable legal authorities, for shared resources, operational efficiency, and cooperation with other Federal land management agencies, State and local governments, and federally recognized Tribes. When preparing a management plan for the Monument, the Secretary shall take into account, to the maximum extent consistent with the proper care and management of the objects identified above, the importance of (1) providing appropriate access for and otherwise facilitating livestock grazing; (2) maintaining; and (3) improving public access, including for recreation and hunting; and providing educational experiences that reflect the diversity of the Monument’s natural and anthropogenic features and their use throughout the region’s history.
Nothing in this proclamation affects the designation, maintenance, and improvement of existing roads and trails within the Monument, which shall continue to be governed by laws and regulations other than this proclamation. The Secretary shall prepare a new transportation plan that endeavors to maximize public access in the Monument through the designation of roads and trails on which motorized and non-motorized vehicle use will be allowed as well as provide for appropriate maintenance of those roads and trails. Pending completion of that transportation plan, the Secretary may allow motorized and non‑motorized vehicle use on roads and trails designated for use before the issuance of Proclamation 6920 and shall maintain roads and trails for such use.
The Secretary shall consider the effects of proposed activities, including potential road closures, on historic roads in the Monument, in accordance with the regulations at 36 C.F.R. part 800, as appropriate.
Consistent with the proper care and management of the objects identified above, the Secretary may authorize ecological restoration and active vegetation management activities in the Monument. When engaging in management planning for the Monument, the Secretary shall consider the full range of vegetation management tools, including mechanical mastication, grazing, and new vegetation management technology that becomes available in the future. Additionally, because noxious weeds and invasive plant species increase wildfire risks, the Secretary may authorize the use of available mechanical, natural, and chemical tools for controlling the proliferation of noxious weed and invasive plant species, and all treatment plans should be developed and implemented in coordination with the Garfield and Kane Counties Weed Boards. Livestock grazing should be utilized as a primary option for mitigating noxious weeds, as well as managing fuels and vegetation.
In recognition of the enduring tradition of livestock grazing in the Monument and its historical and cultural significance to local communities, nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to affect authorizations for livestock grazing, or administration thereof, on Federal lands within the Monument. Livestock grazing within the Monument shall continue to be governed by the laws and regulations other than this Proclamation.
The Secretary shall endeavor to authorize traditional land uses within the Monument, such as grazing, recreation, timber management, public access, and infrastructure development, to the greatest extent possible, consistent with applicable law. Where restrictions on proposed uses are necessary to comply with applicable laws, such restrictions shall be narrowly tailored.
The Secretary shall consider livestock grazing lands in the Monument to constitute a traditional cultural place (TCP) and shall consider how proposed activities will impact that TCP in accordance with the regulation at 36 C.F.R. part 800, as appropriate.
If any livestock grazing permits or leases within the Monument are voluntarily relinquished by existing holders, the Secretary shall, within 1 year, re-allocate the relinquished forage, including by issuing a new permit or lease for the relevant allotment, as appropriate, unless the Secretary specifically finds that such reallocation is inconsistent with the proper care and management of the objects identified above.
If any provision of this proclamation, including its application to a particular parcel of land, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this proclamation shall not be affected thereby. Furthermore, to the extent that any provision of Proclamations 6920, 9682, or 10286 is inconsistent with or contradicts this proclamation, the terms of this proclamation shall govern.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fifty-first.
DONALD J. TRUMP