What is a national monument, anyway? That鈥檚 what I kept asking myself as I rode a mountain bike down a rocky trail on sedimentary layers in the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument. I was rapidly approaching a lower point on the northern rim of the canyon, which is more than a mile deep at some sections. I stopped 2,000 feet above the bottom of the gorge and watched the Colorado River curve through steep cliffs.

The scenery is stunning, the landscape huge鈥o how is it different than a national park? Turns out, not all that much, at least from a visitor鈥檚 standpoint. Most national monuments protect vast landscapes of environmental, cultural, or scenic importance. Ditto national parks.

The real difference is how they鈥檙e created: national parks are voted into place by Congress, national monuments are designated by presidents via the Antiquities Act. With monuments there鈥檚 less red tape, but sometimes more drama (see Bears Ears, below). Also, while many national monuments are managed by the park service, some are managed by the U.S. Forest Service and others are run by the Bureau of Land Management.

There are 133 national monuments scattered across the U.S., usually no less magnificent than their more famous national-park cousins. Sometimes they have fewer amenities (many lack visitor centers, some have no paved roads), and most of them have fewer crowds. Traveling more than 100 miles around last May, I never saw anyone outside of my own group. That would not have been the case in Grand Canyon National Park. Meanwhile the adventure was just as epic.

I鈥檝e gathered 11 of the greatest national monuments in the country, from green mountains on the East Coast to canyons full of cliff dwellings in the Southwest, to fields of wildflowers on the West Coast. Most of these monuments aren鈥檛 famous, but all deserve to be on your bucket list.

Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, Maine

Katahdin Woods and Waters encompasses 87,563 acres of remote mountains, rivers, and backcountry ponds in northern Maine, sustaining healthy populations of moose and black bears. The monument sits to the east of Baxter State Park, where the Appalachian Trail finishes on top of 5,269-foot Mount Katahdin.

While this neighbor park hosts the last, most difficult gasp of the 鈥淎.T.,鈥� Katahdin Woods and Waters has 30 miles of the (a northerly variant that begins here and extends through New Brunswick, Quebec, and a ferry route to Newfoundland), along with a tumultuous portion of the East Branch of the Penobscot River, which flows for 25 miles south through the monument, dropping more than 200 feet in its first 10 miles in a series of waterfalls. Cross-country skiing is popular during the winter; hiking rules in the summer.

国产吃瓜黑料: If you want a quick taste of the monument, the 17-mile Katahdin Loop Road offers short hikes and grand scenic overlooks. But to truly experience Katahdin Woods and Waters, tackle the 10-mile round-trip hike to the summit of via a portion of the Appalachian Trail. You鈥檒l have to ford the thigh-deep Wassataquoik Stream and climb almost 1,600 feet, but 360-degree views and a historic fire tower reward you at the 1,942-foot summit. The monument is primitive, without a lot of developed facilities (nor any flush toilets). There are , but you need reservations.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah

Sandwiched between Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon, gets its name from the series of plateaus that descend between those two massive and scenic ditches. Not to be outdone by its more famous neighbors, which cover 36,000 and 1.2 million acres respectively, Grand Staircase is nearly 1.9 million acres of colorful sandstone canyons, cliffs, and arches.

国产吃瓜黑料: Connecting in the Dry Fork area of Grand Staircase-Escalante makes for the perfect entry into this unique terrain. It鈥檚 a three-mile loop, but plan on a whole afternoon exploring the narrow red- and purple-walled gulches. Some of the passages in Spooky get tight, and there is mandatory scrambling, but no technical climbing is required. If you want to explore more technical canyons, has been guiding canyoneering trips in the monument for more than two decades, and offers a rotating roster of full-day adventures packed with rappels (from $225 per person).

Bears Ears National Monument, Utah

Named after twin buttes rising from the desert floor of Southeastern Utah, has seen more than its share of debate since it was established by President Obama in 2016. The 1.36-million-acre monument is a place of scenic glory and cultural significance: massive red rock cliffs and canyons abound, and a bevy of Native American historical artifacts, from cliff dwellings to pictographs, have been found here.

Today, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, Ute Indian Tribe, and Zuni Tribe all participate in stewardship of Bears Ears as a sacred place. In 2022, the Biden administration signed an agreement that gives those five tribes input into management of the area, and the five Tribes of the Bears Ears Commission (the Commission) and federal agencies released a this year. As for recreation, the Indian Creek Unit, in the northern section of Bears Ears, is a mecca for climbers, who come for the seemingly endless number of cracks in the red rock cliffs. Hikers and bikers follow trails and view artifacts across the region.

国产吃瓜黑料: Bears Ears holds world-class climbing. Sadly, I鈥檝e never climbed in the area (it鈥檚 on my list), but I鈥檝e bike-packed through the monument and was awestruck by the sheer volume of towering rock. There are thousands of climbing routes, though not many for beginners. Supercrack Buttress has a high percentage of classic climbs, including the historic Supercrack of the Desert, a sustained and strenuous 5.10+. Consider a full-day guided climbing adventure in Indian Creek with the Moab-based (from $220 per person).

To see some of the cultural artifacts within Bears Ears, hike an easy through Mule Canyon where the payoff is access to a series of cliff dwellings tucked into a sandstone overhang. The most notable home has been dubbed 鈥渉ouse on fire,鈥� because of the fire-red-toned rock that forms its ceiling. The hike itself is relatively flat as it traverses the dry gorge, with some optional scrambling up sandstone slopes at the end.

There are three designated campgrounds in Indian Creek, all first-come, first-served ($15 a night). has 10 sites tucked into mushroom-shaped outcroppings. Always bring plenty of water; there鈥檚 no potable water at any of the established campgrounds.

Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming

Created by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, was the first national monument in the country, and it鈥檚 still one of the most distinctive. The center of the monument is Devils Tower, a solitary butte rising almost 900 feet from the prairie. The monument is not large, at just 1,346 acres, and there are only five hiking trails within the designated area, and all can be combined for a full day of hiking. Tackling only the will give you a good sense of the landscape, as it delivers views of the massive tower and the more serene Belle Fourche River Valley.

国产吃瓜黑料: Climbers have been drawn to Devils Tower for many decades. Parallel cracks divide the formation into large hexagonal columns, and create a variety of crack and corner climbs for experienced traditional climbers. Routes range from 5.7 to 5.13. Durrance, a 500-foot, six-pitch 5.7, is widely considered the easiest way to the summit. Register your climb at the trailhead to Tower Trail, the approach to the monolith, and heed the June voluntary climbing closure, which was implemented out of respect for Native American tribes associated with the tower, which perform ceremonies at the tower during the month. has 46 first-come, first-served sites under cottonwood trees ($20 per night).

Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado and Utah

preserves 210,000 acres of western Colorado and eastern Utah, where the mighty Green and Yampa rivers converge, creating 2,500-foot-deep canyons. Within the monument are whitewater rapids, red rock canyons, dinosaur fossils encased in rock, and 1,000-year-old petroglyphs and pictographs left by the Fremont people. You can get a sense of the monument by car; Harpers Corner Road is a 32-mile one-way scenic road with views of the Green and Yampa rivers.

If you have a 4WD, peel off the paved road and head to the Echo Park area, the monument鈥檚 signature landscape where the Yampa flows into the Green and the conjoined river wraps around the massive Steamboat Rock. There鈥檚 a picnic table if you just want to take in the view, or you can camp (see below).

国产吃瓜黑料: Raft the Green River through the heart of the monument. The classic run starts at the Gates of Lodore in Colorado and ends at the Split Mountain Campground in Utah. It鈥檚 a class III trip, appropriate for families. runs four-day trips with catered meals (from $1,499 per adult). There are six established campgrounds, all of which are located on either the Green or Yampa rivers, within the monument. has a small campground with 22 sites, first-come, first-served ($10 per site).

Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Arizona

While Grand Canyon National Park encompasses arguably the most dramatic swath of 鈥渢he great ditch,鈥� the lays claim to more than 1 million acres in northern Arizona, including the less crowded and still awe-inspiring northern stretch of the Grand Canyon. The terrain is a mix of Mojave desert, ponderosa pine forest, broad plateaus, and deep canyons.

Just traveling through the monument is an adventure, as there are no paved roads, only 4WD routes and hiking trails. Don鈥檛 come looking for a visitor center or developed campgrounds. You鈥檙e on your own. I spent a few days driving ATVs, biking, trail running, and camping in and around this monument and was amazed at the views and solitude.

The roads in this monument are rough. This is legitimate 4×4 terrain, so always bring spare tires, and if you鈥檙e not comfortable with that sort of travel, this may not be the monument for you. There are others!

国产吃瓜黑料: If you have a high-clearance 4WD, Grand Canyon-Parashant offers nearly limitless options. Try the 80-mile trek to , which passes through ponderosa pine forest and fields of grazing cattle on its way to a three-sided perch on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, with views of Sanup Plateau, Burnt Canyon, and Surprise Canyon. The dirt road turns to clay as it approaches the Grand Canyon, which can be impassable after a heavy rain. There are a number of primitive campsites along the rim of the canyon; only pitch a tent in sites with existing fire rings.

There aren鈥檛 a lot of designated hiking trails within the monument, but check out the six-mile out-and-back up , which leads to a doozy of a view of the Grand Canyon. The trail follows an old roadbed up the side of the 7,072-foot peak crossing over chunky, volcano rock towards the summit. On a clear day you can see Mt. Charleston, outside of Las Vegas, on the horizon, as well as the western end of the Grand Canyon.

Colorado National Monument, Colorado

High on the Colorado Plateau, near Grand Junction, the 20,533-acre could be considered a mini Grand Canyon, as the red rock canyons the monument encompasses are full of towers and rock formations, like the puffy-looking Coke Ovens pinnacles. You can glimpse much of the monument from the 23-mile Rim Rock Drive, which runs along the edge of the canyon with near-constant high views.

国产吃瓜黑料: Climbing Independence Monument, a sandstone spire that rises 450 feet from the heart of the canyon, might be the signature adventure in the monument. A number of different routes ascend the tower, most of them four to five pitches, followed by a double rappel to descend. The 5.8 Otto鈥檚 Route is the classic line. leads day trips up Independence (from $375 for the first climber). has 80 sites, with half first-come, first-served, while the other half can be reserved in advance ($22 a night).

A number of short hikes begin at Rim Rock Drive. is my favorite, as the 1.5-mile out and back leads through some impressive sandstone outcroppings, including the Devils Kitchen, a large natural opening surrounded by towering upright boulders.

Misty Fjords National Monument Wilderness, Alaska

is quintessential Alaska: 2.2 million acres of rainforest, coastal cliffs, and narrow fjords where glacier-carved rock walls rise 3,000 feet from the sea. In this monument, part of the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska, waterfalls drop directly into the bay, while backcountry lakes and streams are surrounded by thick vegetation. Most people experience Misty Fjords via a scenic flight or boat cruise from nearby Ketchikan, but kayakers have free rein.

国产吃瓜黑料: Kayaking is the best way to explore this monument, with its complex shores and many secluded coves. The Behm Canal, a natural channel of calm water carved by glaciers, slices through the heart of Misty Fjords like a highway for boaters. On the east end of the canal, Walker Cove and Punchbowl Cove, where 3,000-foot granite walls rise from the edges of the water, are popular boater destinations with day hikes leading from rocky beaches.

Punchbowl Lake Trail is a two-mile out and back that climbs through the rainforest to a small lake with its own granite walls forming a ring around it. runs a six-day guided kayaking trip into Misty Fjords that will have you paddling up to 12 miles a day, hiking to interior lakes, and camping on remote beaches ($1,800 per person).

Thirteen public-use scattered across the monument can be reserved in advance (from $45 a night), as can four first-come, first-served shelters. Punchbowl Lake Shelter, in Punchbowl Cove, might be the best of the lot, as itsits on the edge of a small lake, with access to a canoe.

Carrizo Plain National Monument, California

No cliffs, no caves, no canyons鈥� is just a massive expanse of rolling grassland, 15 miles wide and 50 miles long, butting up against the 3,000- to 4,000-foot Temblor Mountains in Southern California. This stretch might sound ho-hum until you realize that the vast prairie is absolutely popping with colorful wildflowers in the spring.

The Nature Conservancy, which worked to protect the Carrizo Plain, acquiring the land and partnering with the BLM and California Department of Fish and Game to manage it, compares the landscape to that of the Serengeti because it鈥檚 home to California鈥檚 highest concentration of threatened and endangered species, including the pronghorn antelope and San Joaquin kit fox. The centerpiece of the monument is Soda Lake, a normally dry alkali lake bed that occasionally fills with water after heavy rains and聽 shimmers white with deposits of sulfates and carbonates after that water has evaporated. It looks like a circle of baking soda surrounded by tall grasses and wildflowers.

(Photo: Courtesy Gaia GPS)

国产吃瓜黑料: Soda Lake sits near the north entrance of the monument, and you can see it via the 2.1-mile Overlook Hill Trail. But for a real sense of the scope of these plains, bring your gravel bike and pedal a big loop through the rolling hills past the remnants of former ranches, and look for elk and antelope on the prairie. Show up in spring and you may be greeted by colorful fields of poppies, goldfields, and white and yellow tidy tips that stretch toward the horizon. Traffic is minimal, and you can put together a variety of different rides. A great one is a 60-mile all-day adventure on mixed surfaces, combining Elkhorn Road, Panorama Road, Soda Lake Road, and Simmler Road, covering the heart of the monument and with views of Soda Lake.

Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico

Protecting the traditional lands of roughly 23 tribal nations, is worth visiting from a cultural perspective alone. But the landscape is also remarkable, as the 33,677-acre monument is packed with mesas, canyons and a federally designated wilderness with 70 miles of backcountry hiking. Ancient culture and dramatic terrain mesh in the monument鈥檚 cliff dwellings, homes that the Ancestral Pueblo people built directly into the sides of rock walls.

国产吃瓜黑料: Take your time and explore the archeological sites in Bandelier. The 1.4-mile winds through a series of small alcoves carved in the soft rock walls that you can access via ladders, and into the ruins of large stone houses. From the Pueblo Loop, tack on a one-mile out-and-back side trip to the Alcove House, a massive carved niche that was once home to 25 people. You can reach it by climbing a series of steps and ladders.

(Photo: Courtesy Gaia GPS)

has 57 campsites, 16 of which are first-come, first-served, while the rest can be reserved up to six months in advance ($20 per site).

San Juan Islands National Monument, Washington

Not to be confused with the San Juan Islands National Historic Park, the protects 1,000 acres of the Puget Sound islands, covering a contrasting mix of green-forested coves, sheer bluffs, rocky beaches, and lighthouses, all managed by the BLM and scattered throughout the larger 450-island San Juan archipelago adjacent to the Canadian border.

国产吃瓜黑料: The monument is scattered throughout the Puget Sound, so you need a boat to do it justice. It鈥檚 tough to decide where to focus your energy in the San Juans, but Patos Island should be on your itinerary. This 200-acre spit of land is managed by the BLM in conjunction with Washington State Parks, and has beaches, hiking trails, a historic lighthouse, and established (from $12 a night). It鈥檚 also the northernmost point in the Lower 48.

If you want to explore more of the monument, offers a variety of kayak tours throughout the San Juan Islands. Check out their five-day expedition that features amping on small islands and peeping at orcas from the belly of a boat (from $1,199 per person).

How to Be a Conscientious Traveler

National monuments often lack the same infrastructure as national parks, which means they may not have the staff on-site to help with questions, clean up campsites, or offer guidance. It鈥檚 super important to practice principles in these monuments, and be aware of the cultural importance of the landscape. Many of these properties encompass the historical territory of Native Peoples and contain artifacts that are important to their heritage. Be kind and respectful, leave what you find, and whenever you have the opportunity, use local guides and purchase items from local shops.

Graham Averill is 国产吃瓜黑料 magazine鈥檚 national parks columnist. In his opinion, national monuments represent the best of America鈥檚 public lands: with all the beauty of national parks, but none of the crowds.

For more by Graham Averill, see:

The 5 Best National Park Road Trips in the U.S.

The 9 Best Gateway Towns to U.S. National Parks

And the 11 Least Visited National Parks Are鈥�

The 10 Best Backpacking Trails in Our National Parks

The post Put These Beautiful National Monuments on Your Must-See List appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Without the Antiquities Act, the Grand Canyon would be a strip mine. And now all of our national monuments are threatened.

Last month, the Heritage Foundation鈥攁 rightwing think tank鈥攔eleased a comprehensive blueprint that would guide the policy transition for a potential second Donald Trump presidency鈥攊ncluding public lands management. The document maps out a plan to gut the Antiquities Act, which would allow the government to turn some of our most scenic and important public lands over to energy extraction interests.

The plan involves a two-pronged judicial and executive attack: The first will involve bringing a case in front of the Supreme Court designed to weaken the use of the Antiquities Act to preserve large swaths of land. The second would involve placing high ranking appointees in the Department of Interior, like Ryan Zinke and William Perry Pendley under the first Trump presidency, who would be amenable to leasing or selling large portions of public lands to energy companies.

You may be wondering, what is the Antiquities Act? The Act was signed on June 8, 1906, granting Presidents the power to protect cultural or natural resources of special historic or scientific interest by declaring them national monuments. The federal government manages 640 million acres of public land on your behalf, and for over a century, presidents have added significant levels of protection to some of the most important parts of that land using the Antiquities Act.

The first use of the Act came in September 1906, when Teddy Roosevelt created Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. In 1908, he established the Grand Canyon National Monument, covering 800,120 acres in Arizona. Legal challenges began immediately.

Local businessman Ralph H. Cameron owned 20 acres annexed by the Monument, and refused to vacate them, taking his case all the way to the Supreme Court. Crucially, Cameron鈥檚 challenge argued that the designation did not meet the requirement in the Act for Monuments to be, 鈥渓imited to the smallest area compatible with the care and management of the objects to be protected.鈥�

In 1920, the Supreme Court , finding that the scale of the Grand Canyon itself justified the Monument鈥檚 size. That decision established a precedent that still stands today, granting presidents wide discretion in executing the powers granted to them by Congress.

Today, many of our nation鈥檚 most important landscapes are protected under the Antiquities Act, or, like the Grand Canyon, have become national parks after first being declared Monuments. Teddy Roosevelt went on to establish 16 more national monuments. His distant cousin Franklin created nine, including what is now Joshua Tree National Park.

Famously, Jimmy Carter used the Act to protect 56 million acres of public land in Alaska in a move that was so controversial at the time that Alaskans burned effigies of him in the street, but is now responsible for much of that state鈥檚 economic activity. Bill Clinton created 19 national monuments, George W. Bush is responsible for six, and Barack Obama established 26, including the 1.3 million acre Bears Ears and 582,578 square mile Papah膩naumoku膩kea Marine National Monument off the coast of Hawaii.

Increasingly, presidents have been using the Antiquities Act to protect areas from oil and gas drilling, coal mining, and other forms of extraction.

Which brings us to Donald Trump, who in 2017 ordered then Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke to review all Monument designations made since 2006 that were over 100,000 acres in size.

That led to a Trump order shrinking Bears Ears down to about 228,000 acres鈥�15 percent of its original size鈥攁nd the nearby Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument from the 1.9 million acres originally designated by President Clinton to just 1 million acres. This was the largest reversal in public land protections in U.S. history, and was done .

Much controversy ensued, 国产吃瓜黑料 did a good job of covering it, and President Biden restored both monuments, while slightly expanding the borders of Bears Ears in 2021.

All caught up? Good, because now we can start talking about far right groups like the Heritage Foundation and Trump transition team鈥檚 plans not only to finish what they started, but to go after the ability for future presidents to designate national monuments altogether.

Around the time that Biden was working to restore the two monuments in Utah, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts wrote heavily critical of interpretations of the Antiquities Act that allowed Presidents to protect large areas, specifically revisiting the 鈥渟mallest area鈥� provision.

鈥淪omewhere along the line, however, this restriction has ceased to pose any meaningful restraint,鈥� Roberts wrote in the 2021 letter. 鈥淎 statute permitting the President in his sole discretion to designate as monuments 鈥榣and-marks,鈥� 鈥榮tructures,鈥� AND 鈥榦bjects鈥欌�攁long with the smallest area of land compatible with their management鈥攈as been transformed into a power without any discernible limit to set aside vast and amorphous expanses of terrain above and below the sea.鈥�

Roberts went on to identify several lawsuits in lower courts at the time that might provide a good challenge to the 1920 precedent allowing for large monuments, and suggested the court was looking for 鈥渂etter opportunities鈥� to revisit the legality of the Antiquities Act.

Since Trump appointed three far-right justices to the court during his term, the Supreme Court has taken what the Brennan Center for Justice describes as an 鈥溾�� approach to pursuing a regressive agenda. That means it now actively seeks out cases to hear that might allow it to issue rulings that provide predetermined outcomes in line with that agenda. In short, the court has become political, and is helping advance the far right agenda through a branch of government insulated from the will and actions of voters.

We saw that same mechanism used to curtail abortion rights, when Justice Antonin Scalia wrote opinions about cases that sought to chip away at women’s access to healthcare, in such a manner that a ruling on the outright legality of Roe v. Wade could be considered. The court found that case in 2022 with Dobbs v. Jackson Women鈥檚 Health Organization, allowing the far right majority to eliminate the constitutional right to abortion. Now that same majority has indicated it’s looking for a case broad enough that they can take sweeping action on the Antiquities Act.

This March, the Supreme Court from Oregon鈥檚 logging industry challenging the application of the Antiquities Act in that state. While it may sound counterintuitive that a court looking for an opportunity to issue a predetermined ruling on something would reject such cases, the two cases brought in March challenged a specific conflict with another law applicable only in Oregon. So, a ruling on them may only have applied in that state, rather than nationally. Which, a far right political operative explains, simply didn’t go far enough to get the court to the ruling Roberts has indicated he’s hoping to make.

鈥淐hief Justice Roberts has made it quite clear he has some concerns about [the Antiquities Act] and its abuse,鈥� , one of the headline authors of Project 2025, in March. 鈥淭he court wants to meet whatever [question] it鈥檚 looking for, and it appears this wasn鈥檛 it.鈥�

All the court needs in order to gut the Antiquities Act is a case with a large enough scope that it would justify such a ruling.

It鈥檚 notable and relevant to hear that explanation from Pendley, who served in a fluctuating capacity in the Department of the Interior during the Trump administration that was eventually ruled illegal. When he鈥檚 not attempting to hold government office, Pendley works as a lobbyist for the oil and gas industry, and moonlights as a writer, authoring all manner of controversial op-eds that deny climate change and are often considered racist, among other fun topics. Pendley is arguably the nation鈥檚 leading advocate for the mass sell-off of public lands.

鈥淭he new Administration must seek repeal of the Antiquities Act of 1906,鈥� Pendley writes in . He goes on to describe Trump鈥檚 actions to shrink Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante as 鈥渋nsufficient,鈥� and suggests that actions taken around Monuments during a second Trump term be specifically directed to result in a Supreme Court case centered on a president’s authority to protect land鈥攖he same case Roberts says he’d like to see brought before the court.

Pendley disparages what he calls 鈥淏iden鈥檚 war on fossil fuels,鈥� and says the President鈥檚 policies have resulted in, 鈥渄ire adverse national impact.鈥�

But Pendley’s track record on telling the truth isn’t exactly stellar. Even while Biden has used the Antiquities act to restore those two monuments in Utah, and also establish five new ones and expand two more, he鈥檚 also grown domestic production of oil and gas to .

So what is the right complaining about? Biden’s energy record has resulted in massive new energy exports, never-before-seen levels of compensation for oil and gas executives, paid shareholders record dividends, and created a booming market for jobs in the energy sector鈥攕ounds like a far-right dream. This administration has proven that new and expanded national monuments can coexist with extraction.

“The [Trump] Administration鈥檚 review will permit a fresh look at past monument decrees and new ones by President Biden,鈥� suggests Pendley, in his policy proposal, indicating that he’s not just looking to prevent the creation of future monuments, but possibly to reduce or eliminate existing national monuments, too.

But if Chief Justice Roberts gets his way, it may not even take a Trump victory to achieve that.

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President Biden used his executive authority today to restore protections to three national monuments whose federal safeguards were significantly curtailed under the Trump Administration.

Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah, which former President Trump shrunk by about 85 percent, will be restored and slightly expanded beyond its original 1.3 million acres. Grand Staircase-Escalante, also in Utah, will be restored to its original 1.8 million acres. And Northeast Canyons and Seamounts, a marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean, will have its management conditions鈥攁ltered during the Trump Administration to loosen restrictions on commercial fishing鈥攔einstated.

鈥淚 am proud to stand with President Biden in restoring these monuments and fulfilling his commitment to the American people,鈥� said secretary of the interior Deb Haaland in a statement released yesterday. 鈥淥n my visit to Utah, I had the distinct honor to speak with many people who care deeply about this land. The historical connection between Indigenous peoples and Bears Ears is undeniable. This living landscape must be protected so that all Americans have the profound opportunity to learn and cherish our history.鈥�

Responding to the news yesterday, Patagonia released a statement in support of the decision.

鈥淲e want to thank the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition for their leadership and thank all of our friends in the Indigenous and environmental communities who have worked to protect Bears Ears National Monument,鈥� said Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert. 鈥淲e also want to thank the Biden administration, especially secretary Haaland, for their work to restore protections for more than a million acres of sacred land.鈥�

According to the Interior Department, President Trump鈥檚 2017 reduction of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments represented the largest reduction in national monument designations in U.S. history. Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, called Biden’s move to reverse that decision “righting a wrong.”

“The President鈥檚 action will ensure that our children, and our children鈥檚 children, will be able to experience the wonder, history, and beauty of these extraordinary public lands and waters as we do today,” Mallory said.

Not everyone was pleased with the decision. Utah鈥檚 congressional delegation鈥攃omprised of two Republican senators and three Republican representatives鈥攔eleased a joint statement yesterday saying President Biden’s actions have “fanned the flames of controversy and ignored input from the communities closest to these monuments.”

The Interior Department’s statement, however, seems to refute the idea that the administration ignored input from locals.

“To inform the report, Biden-Harris administration officials conducted Tribal consultations and met with numerous interested parties,” the statement said. These groups included Indigenous-led organizations; scientific and nonprofit organizations; small business owners; ranchers; outdoor recreation organizations; fishing industry representatives; New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils; the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission; and conservation organizations.

With today’s action, Biden becomes the 18th president to use the authority of the Antiquities Act鈥攐riginally passed in 1906鈥攖o provide executive protections for cultural and natural resources in the U.S.

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