When Monument Boundaries Opened Land to Mining Claims in Utah

On July 13, 2026 the president issued proclamations that sharply reduced the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase‑Escalante national monuments in Utah. The Grand Staircase was cut to about 181,541 acres and Bears Ears to about 121,096 acres, leaving roughly three million acres outside the protected areas. The proclamations state that, at 9:00 a.m. eastern daylight time 60 days after the proclamations, the excluded public lands will be open to mining‑law location, mineral and geothermal leasing, and other public land disposals.

Conservation groups and tribal advocates have voiced concern because the excluded lands contain archaeological sites and geologic deposits, and the proclamation lists many critical minerals, such as copper, uranium and vanadium. After the 2017 boundary cuts new mining claims were filed near the monuments, and advocacy groups have documented those filings in public land records. The Bureau of Land Management administers mining‑claim records and will process filings under the mining laws, although mining approvals still must meet legal requirements and valid existing rights are preserved. Since the proclamation sets a 60‑day waiting period, companies and prospectors may use that interval to prepare claims and plans.