Monuments | PLPCO

National Monuments

National Monuments in Utah

Utah is home to nine national monuments that protect a vast array of geological wonders and ancient cultural history. They are: Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Dinosaur, Cedar Breaks, Timpanogos Cave, Natural Bridges, Rainbow Bridge, Hovenweep, and Jurassic. Together, these monuments safeguard millions of years of paleontological data and thousands of years of diverse cultural heritage across Utah’s landscapes.

Frequently Asked Questions

NATIONAL MONUMENTS
IN UTAH

The Antiquities Act gives the President the power to protect certain public lands and historic sites by designating them as National Monuments. The act specifies that the size of these monuments should be limited to the "smallest area compatible" with the proper care of the objects being protected.

A Quick Look at National Monuments in Utah

Rainbow Bridge

160 Acres

One of highest known natural bridges on earth near Lake Powell

Timpanogos Cave

250 Acres

Three distinct, interconnected cavern systems in American Fork Canyon

Hovenweep

785 Acres

Six prehistoric villages of the Ancestral Puebloans near Blanding

Jurassic

850 Acres

Concentrated Jurassic-age dinosaur bones in the San Rafael Swell near Price

Cedar Breaks

6,155 Acres

Natural red-rock amphitheater
near Cedar City

Natural Bridges

7,636 Acres

Three of world's largest sandstone bridges in San Juan County

Dinosaur

210,000 Acres

One of the world's best-preserved fossil beds near Vernal

Bears Ears

Original Size: 1.36 Million Acres
New Size: 121,096 Acres

Tribal cultural landscapes and twin buttes in San Juan County

Grand Staircase-Escalante

Original Size: 1.87 Million Acres
New Size: 181,541 Acres

High-desert plateaus, deep canyons, and rare fossils in Kane & Garfield Counties

PARK? MONUMENT? WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

While they may look and feel like national parks, national monuments have different legal and administrative definitions from national parks.

National Monument

National Park

Who designates them? President or Congress

Who designates them? Congress

Federal management goal? Protect historic and scientific objects on public lands

Federal management goal? Preserve area for scenic, educational, and recreational value

Who manages them? National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, USDA Forest Service, or U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Who manages them? National Park Service

Authorized Size? The "smallest area compatible" with protection of the historic or cultural object

Authorized Size? Generally large and encompassing entire ecosystems

Why National Monument Size Matters

Extremely large national monuments have the potential to harm the very resources they were designated to protect by increasing visitation without providing the increased funding necessary for improved management and law enforcement capabilities. Limiting the size of national monuments will allow agencies to engage in better long-term planning for funding, staffing and infrastructure to protect them as visitation increases.

Over the past two decades, the boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments have been modified at the sole discretion of the President. Initially established at 1.35 million and 1.7 million acres, respectively, both monuments were adjusted in 2017 to approximately 228,000 and 1 million acres. In 2021, these boundaries were restored to a size close to their original sizes. Now, in 2026, they have been modified to approximately 121,000 and 182,000 acres, respectively.

Without National Monuments, how would these resources be protected?

Federal laws are the core of public land management. Even when a landscape lacks the high-profile status of a National Monument, these laws ensure that agencies like the BLM and USDA Forest Service operate under strict mandates to protect historical and environmental resources.

Available Protections Regardless of Monument Designation Status

Federal Law / Designation

Primary Focus

Key Protections Offered

Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA)

Archeological Resources

Makes it a federal crime to excavate, remove, or deface archaeological sites (pottery, structures, etc.) on public lands; imposes heavy fines and prison time for looting.

Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (PRPA)

Fossils and Paleontology

Makes it a federal crime to excavate, remove, damage, or deface paleontological resources on public lands without a permit; imposes heavy fines and prison time for looting.

National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)

Historic Properties

Section 106 requires federal agencies to evaluate impact of any project (like a mine) on significant historical sites and consult with Tribes and States to avoid, minimize or mitigate adverse effects.

Endangered Species Act (ESA)

Wildlife & Plants

Prohibits actions like harassment or killing of listed species and mandates protection of "Critical Habitat" essential to their survival, regardless of land's administrative title.

Federal Land Policy & Management Act (FLPMA)

Land Use Framework

Mandates a balance of "multiple use" and "sustained yield" in managing public lands and allows for designating Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs) to protect specific values.

National Forest Management Act (NFMA)

Land Use Framework

Mandates a balance of "multiple use" and "sustained yield" in managing National Forests.

Wilderness Act

Land Use Framework

Designates areas as “wilderness” to be managed in a way that preserves their wilderness characteristics.

Wilderness Study Areas (WSA)

Primitive Character

Managed to a "non-impairment" standard to preserve their roadless, natural state and are treated like Wilderness until Congress decides whether to formally designate or release them.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

Environmental Compliance

Required for all major federal actions that significantly affect the human environment, including projects funded, permitted, licensed, or approved by federal agencies.

Antiquities Act

Focused Protection of Antiquities

Requires national monuments be limited to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected.

American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA)

Religious Freedom

Protects Indigenous peoples' right to practice traditional religions, including through access to sites on federal public lands.

Even before these national monuments, Utah leveraged both federal law and local regulation to protect its public lands and the resources found there. Utah’s shared-stewardship model prioritizes active management and multiple-use by leveraging federal law alongside state guidance to balance environmental health with cultural preservation.

This framework moves beyond passive conservation, which has been the convention for over-sized national monuments. Instead, Utah's shared-stewardship model integrates State and Tribal values with local heritage to ensure that public land management remains responsive to the communities that depend on it.

In 2026, the Utah Legislature passed House Bill 536 to elevate the criminal penalties for offenses related to the alteration, removal, injury, or destruction of antiquities.

Pledge to Protect the Past

National Monuments Frequently Asked Questions

The Antiquities Act must only be used to protect specific objects within the smallest area compatible with their care. Utah is committed to protecting biological and cultural resources with or without a monument designation in place.
To do this effectively on a smaller scale, we focus on site-specific stewardship, and prioritize monitoring high-risk zones like ancient dwellings or fossil beds.
At the broader ecosystem level, this means strengthening interagency cooperation, landscape-level resource management planning, and partnering with public and private landowners to ensure that wide-ranging wildlife and watersheds are actively managed as a cohesive unit across monument boundaries.
The goal is to ensure that objects identified in a proclamation receive proper protections and resources, landscape-scale monuments dilute the enforcement and protection of the specified objects.
All of these objectives and the broader landscapes are still protected by several different Congressional acts.

The decision to designate, increase or decrease national monuments lies with the President through the Antiquities Act.
These lands are vital to both the state and local economies. While they are not state or Tribal lands, the state stands ready to be meaningfully included in the Bears Ears National Monument planning process and is committed to working collaboratively with Tribal partners during planning and implementation.
Tribes will play a key role during consultation to formulate monument management plans.

The size of the National Monuments in Utah exceeds the authorization in the Antiquities Act. Using tax dollars to support oversized monuments would only worsen this misuse of the Antiquities Act. On June 23, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals agreed federal courts may review presidents’ decisions about monuments and sent the case back down to district court.
The size of the National Monuments in Utah exceeds the authorization in the Antiquities Act. Using tax dollars to support oversized monuments would only worsen this misuse of the Antiquities Act.

Lands outside national monument boundaries are still managed by the federal government as public lands, administered by federal agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management. Any activities involving resource development on public lands are subject to federal law and regulations. Any mineral lease sale or usage would follow the federal process for land use permitting and sale. Monuments are a different designation for protection of historic or cultural objects on public lands. Numerous Congressional still provide protection of these resources.

The federal government still manages public lands outside national monuments through agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management and USDA Forest Service.
Looting and vandalism on public lands are prohibited and punishable under federal and state law.
Utah is managing resources, even when the federal government cannot. The Utah Cultural Site Stewardship (UCSS) community is at the forefront of cultural heritage protection in Utah and is setting a national standard for interagency and public collaboration. For example, during the 2025 federal government shutdown, UCSS volunteers contributed:
- Volunteer hours: 1,882 hours (donated cost value $65,474.78)
- Volunteer Miles: 28,799 miles (donated cost value $20,159.30)
- During the shutdown, stewards donated $85,634.08 of their own resources to help safeguard our shared heritage. This does not include costs for food, hotels, vehicle use, etc.
- 165 volunteers have been out on the landscape taking action during the shutdown. Many of them went out week after week.
- 448 monitoring reports were submitted during the shutdown
- 39 damages have been reported (ranging from minor to severe)
The state will continue its ongoing efforts to protect archaeological sites throughout the state, regardless of whether or not they are located within a national monument.
The Utah Department of Natural Resources employs 140 law enforcement officers and has existing relationships with local law enforcement and federal agency partners to protect cultural and historical resources.

Single agencies often lack enough resources to solely manage lands of this size.
The lands in the BENM fall within state boundaries and are managed by federal agencies like the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the USDA Forest Service (USFS), not by Tribal authorities. These lands play a significant role in the state and local economies but are not Tribal lands.
The state supports protecting the rights of all stakeholders. Consulting parties for future management decisions should include representatives from the five tribes with historic connections to the regions, alongside local government representatives and state appointees. This ensures that diverse voices, Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike, will collaboratively guide the care and management of these lands.

Lands outside national monument boundaries are still managed by the federal government.
Agencies apply "multiple-use and sustained yield" management strategies to balance preservation with other activities. This includes implementing specific seasonal travel restrictions and habitat restoration projects designed to maintain land health and reduce the impact of any new land uses on wildlife.
To address potential gaps in protected areas, agencies use data to identify and protect primary movement paths for species like desert bighorn sheep and mule deer. Prioritizing the installation of wildlife-friendly fencing and providing connections to habitats helps ensure that migration routes remain functional.
The Wildlife Action Plan also provides strong, clear guidance for improving habitats and strengthening wildlife populations. It is a strategic tool that, if fully implemented, can help reduce and prevent the need for listings under the Endangered Species Act.

Active land management involves interventions and ongoing human effort to manage ecosystems through prescribed burns for fire mitigation, revegetation after a wildfire, and landscape restoration by removing invasive and encroaching plant species.
Utah has an established track record of managing public lands for multiple uses and objectives, whether it be the state park system, wildlife management areas, grazing management or wildland fire education and management.

Maintaining consistent policies on public lands ensures that long-term management goals aren't derailed by short-term political shifts. This stability and consistency are essential for several reasons:
- Large-scale restoration and wildfire prevention efforts require decades to succeed; steady policy ensures these multi-year investments are not abandoned before they show results.
- Local communities and businesses can make long-term financial plans and infrastructure investments when they have predictable rules regarding land access and usage.
- Consistent management allows for uninterrupted data collection, which provides the clear, long-term evidence needed to make informed decisions about water and wildlife.

In The News

Our newsroom has announcements and management updates for the media and the public to stay informed on the evolving protections and events shaping national monuments in Utah.

Phone: 801-537-9801
E-mail: [email protected]

The State of Utah Applauds National Monuments Modifications

Press Release

Bears Ears National Monument - Proclamation

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument - Proclamation

Interactive Maps Coming Soon

National Monuments

National Monuments in Utah

A Quick Look at National Monuments in Utah

Rainbow Bridge

160 Acres

Timpanogos Cave

250 Acres

Hovenweep

785 Acres

Jurassic

850 Acres

Cedar Breaks

6,155 Acres

Natural Bridges

7,636 Acres

Dinosaur

210,000 Acres

Bears Ears

Original Size: 1.36 Million AcresNew Size: 121,096 Acres

Grand Staircase-Escalante

Original Size: 1.87 Million AcresNew Size: 181,541 Acres

National Monument

National Park

Why National Monument Size Matters

Without National Monuments, how would these resources be protected?

Available Protections Regardless of Monument Designation Status

Pledge to Protect the Past

National Monuments Frequently Asked Questions

In The News

Original Size: 1.36 Million Acres
New Size: 121,096 Acres

Original Size: 1.87 Million Acres
New Size: 181,541 Acres