ExecutiveOrdersEO
Proc 9681ProclamationTrump 45 · R

Proclamation 9681

Modifying the Bears Ears National Monument

This proclamation reduces the Bears Ears National Monument from approximately 1.35 million acres to about 201,876 acres, creating two smaller units (Shash Jáa and Indian Creek). It opens the excluded lands to mineral leasing, mining, and other commercial uses 60 days after signing. It also revises the tribal commission's scope and modifies management provisions from the original Obama-era proclamation.

Federal Register Open PDF 82 FR 58081

Impact dates

  1. Excluded public and National Forest System lands open to entry, sale, mineral leasing, and mining

Key directives

  • Reduce Bears Ears National Monument boundaries to approximately 201,876 acres
  • Rename and restrict Bears Ears Commission to Shash Jáa unit
  • Add San Juan County Commission District 3 elected officer to commission
  • Allow motorized and non-mechanized vehicle use on pre-December 28, 2016 roads and trails pending transportation plan
  • Revise livestock grazing provision to clarify it is governed by other laws
  • Authorize ecological restoration and active vegetation management by Secretaries
  • Open excluded lands to public land laws, mineral/geothermal leasing, and mining laws

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

  • Monument boundaries reduced; excluded lands identified on accompanying map
  • Bears Ears Commission renamed Shash Jáa Commission and scope limited to Shash Jáa unit
  • San Juan County Commission District 3 representative added to commission

Near term (90d)

  • Excluded public and National Forest System lands open to entry, location, sale, mineral/geothermal leasing, and mining at 9:00 a.m. EST on February 2, 2018 (60 days after December 4, 2017)
  • Secretaries may allow motorized/non-mechanized vehicle use on pre-December 28, 2016 roads and trails pending transportation plan

Long term

  • Ongoing management of reduced monument under revised provisions
  • Potential commercial development on excluded lands
  • Ecological restoration and active vegetation management authorized in monument
  • Livestock grazing governed by existing laws outside proclamation

Risks & tensions

  • Significant reduction (85%) of monument boundaries challenges Antiquities Act's 'smallest area compatible' standard
  • Tribal participation narrowed: commission renamed, scope limited to one unit, though San Juan County representative added
  • Legal vulnerability: provision anticipates potential invalidation of portions ('If any provision...is held to be invalid')
  • Conflict between conservation and extraction interests on excluded lands
  • Potential archaeological and cultural resource threats from opened mining and drilling on excluded lands
Proclamation 9681: Modifying the Bears Ears National Monument · Executive Orders