What to know about Trump's order shrinking the size of 2 national monuments in Utah

Revisiting actions from his first term that were reversed, President Donald Trump announced Monday that he will scale back the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah.

The Republican’s actions undo proclamations from his predecessors who deemed the sites worthy of preservation under the Antiquities Act, a 1906 law that gives presidents power to protect areas of cultural, historic or scientific interest.

Trump made similar moves during his first term, but many were reversed by his successor, President Joe Biden.

The back-and-forth underscores how national monuments have become a flashpoint over the management of public lands. Trump is not the first president to reduce the size of monuments.

Here’s a look at U.S. national monuments and presidents who have created or reshaped them:

How many national monuments have Biden and Trump acted on?


Trump made only a handful of Antiquities Act proclamations during his first term, including two that reduced the...