Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

This proclamation restores the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to its original boundaries of approximately 1.87 million acres as they existed before December 4, 2017, revoking the reduction made by President Trump in Proclamation 9682. It reinstates full Antiquities Act protection, withdraws lands from mining and mineral leasing, and directs the Secretary of the Interior to manage the monument through the Bureau of Land Management.

Federal Register Open PDF 86 FR 57335

Impact dates

Dec 3, 2017
Restore monument to boundaries as of December 3, 2017 (~1.87 million acres)

Key directives

Restore monument to boundaries as of December 3, 2017 (~1.87 million acres)
Withdraw all Federal lands within boundaries from public land laws, mining laws, and mineral/geothermal leasing laws
Secretary of Interior shall manage monument through BLM as unit of National Landscape Conservation System
Manage in accordance with Proclamation 6920 as incorporated by reference
Proclamation 9682 terms superseded where inconsistent

Who is ordered

Secretary of the Interior · Department of the Interior

Timeline

Immediate

Monument boundaries restored to ~1.87 million acres
Lands withdrawn from entry, location, sale, mining laws, and mineral/geothermal leasing
Proclamation 9682 superseded

Near term (90d)

BLM to resume management under Proclamation 6920 and new proclamation terms
Potential legal challenges from affected parties

Long term

Continued scientific research and discovery
Preservation of paleontological and archaeological resources
Ongoing management plan implementation

Risks & tensions

Legal vulnerability: prior litigation challenging Proclamation 9682 may be mooted or refocused; new challenges possible from mining/energy interests or Utah state officials
Boundary restoration reverses Trump-era policy, continuing cycle of monument expansion/reduction between administrations
Vague on specific management plan updates or resource allocation for expanded boundary enforcement