1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

Push back against Trump's executive order shrinking Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. The Antiquities Act of 1906 gives presidents authority to create monuments — not to gut them. Trump does not have the legal authority to modify these designations, and Congress needs to act now to make that clear. Bears Ears is sacred land to multiple tribal nations, and Grand Staircase-Escalante is one of the world's richest sources of Triassic-era fossils. Trump shrank these same monuments in 2017, Biden restored them in 2021, and now we're watching this destructive cycle repeat. His order opens both monuments to mining, drilling, and large-scale commercial development. Over 70% of Utah voters support keeping these protections in place, and 91% of voters across eight Western states want existing monument designations left intact. This is not a close call politically or legally. Protect Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante from corporate exploitation and defend Congress's role in public lands protection.