By McKenzie Romero | Editor
For the second time, President Donald Trump has drastically shrunk the sizes of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah. And he is again sure to face a court battle over the move.
The size of the monuments established under the Antiquities Act by Democratic presidents has long riled Republicans in the state who said the designations restricted hunting, ranching and economic development. Environmental groups and tribes are (again) outraged over the reductions.
In today’s Dispatch we map out the reductions to Bears Ears and Grand Staircase, the end of two transportation programs in Salt Lake City, and what a new report says about the health of Idaho’s Snake River.
“Almost 3 million acres, going to be well taken care of now.” — President Donald Trump on how much land is being removed as he signed executive orders shrinking Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.
A canyon in Bears Ears National Monument is pictured on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
Trump shrinks Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante — again
By Katie McKellar
President Donald Trump’s executive orders to again shrink Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah continues a game of tug-of-war between multiple presidential administrations that has changed the boundaries of the national monuments several times over nearly a decade.
This time, he shrunk the two monuments by nearly 3 million total acres, cutting more than 90% of their land. As they did back in 2017, conservation groups and tribes reacted with outrage, and lawsuits are sure to follow. Bears Ears in particular has deep spiritual and cultural significance for tribes.
A UTA Trax train travels through Salt Lake City on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
By Alixel Cabrera
After what Salt Lake City officials described as one of the most complicated budget cycles the city has seen, transportation programs that allowed cheaper public transportation fees and waived parking fees on city streets are no longer running.
Among the defunct plans are the Hive Pass, which allowed access to Utah Transit Authority buses, TRAX and other routes for $42 a month and the city’s Green Vehicle Parking Program, which offered free parking for cars that met the standards established by an Environmental Protection Agency program that certifies the cleanest, most efficient vehicles every year.
The water quality of the Snake River has improved, but it still faces threats from invasive species and nutrient runoff, according to the Idaho Conservation League. (Photo courtesy of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture)
IDAHO CAPITAL SUN
By Abigail Gerstein
A new report by the Idaho Conservation League found that the Snake River, which spans the breadth of the state, has made dramatic progress in water quality, but ongoing threats still make the river unsafe in many areas.
While phosphorus concentrations have improved, agricultural runoff remains one of the largest threats to the river’s health. Concentrated animal feeding operations, which produce roughly 120 million pounds of manure daily in the Magic Valley alone, continue to pump excess nitrogen and phosphorus into the river.
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