Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
September 28, 2026

Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org
Keri Gilliland, The Wilderness Society, (KGilliland@tws.org)
Chaitna Sinha, Conservation Codirector and Staff Attorney, Grand Canyon Trust; (970) 399-9565 (csinha@grandcanyontrust.org)
Amy Dominguez, Sierra Club, amy.dominguez@sierraclub.org, (385) 355-4631
Andrew Scibetta, NRDC, (202) 289-2421, ascibetta@nrdc.org
Daniel Hernandez, National Parks Conservation Association, dhernandez@npca.org, (202) 573-2201

SAN JUAN COUNTY, UT – From 2018-2021 (during the previous, illegal reduction) there were a total of 20 mining claims filed in the lands cut from Bears Ears National Monument. As of Monday, Sept. 28 (two weeks after the mineral withdrawal was lifted during the second illegal reduction), more than triple that number – 72 claims – have been filed. 

Mining claims have been filed by Land Survey Advisors LLC (36), Kimmerle Mining (33), and George W. Schultz (3). A map of all claims can be found here. The claims are in the following areas on both Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service land: Seven Sisters Butte, Fry Canyon, the headwaters of Dark Canyon Wilderness, just north of Natural Bridges National Monument, Lockhart Basin, & near the Easy Peasy Mine (the mine has been re-buried; two of Kimmerle Mining Claims are adjustments to Easy Peasy claims). These lands became subject to mining claims on Friday, September 11 – 60 days after President Trump decimated Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante by shrinking these national monuments by over 90%. Additional information appears below, along with quotes from Tribal leaders and conservation groups. 

“The pace of new mining claims in Bears Ears National Monument is alarming and reinforces the need for vigilance while we work to undo Trump’s illegal actions and restore both Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments,” said Hanna Larsen, Staff Attorney at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “These claims are located in some of the region’s most remarkable places, including the headwaters of the Dark Canyon Wilderness and just outside Natural Bridges National Monument. As evidenced by the Easy Peasy Mine, claims like these often lead to real and long-lasting damage to the very qualities that make these monuments so special.”

“The sheer volume of mining claims filed so far in the land cut from Bears Ears National Monument should dispel any lingering illusion about the administration’s true aim,” said Charlie Luke, Utah state director for The Wilderness Society. “The president and the Utah delegation, led by Senator. Lee, would sacrifice irreplaceable cultural resources, wildlife habitat, clean air and water, and our freedom to experience this magnificent place for the short-term profit of a few. We owe future generations a Bears Ears that remains healthy, intact and conserved.”

“The speed with which the mining industry has moved to stake dozens of claims following the dismantling of the Bears Ears National Monument demonstrates the real-world consequences of stripping protections from some of America’s most important landscapes,” said Bobby McEnaney, Senior Lands Analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “This sequence of events underscores exactly why Bears Ears was originally established and why this landscape deserves lasting protection. These mining claims amount to a virtual giveaway of public lands.”

 “In the two weeks since the administration opened 90% of Bears Ears National Monument to mining, at least 72 new mining claims have been filed. New mines would leave devastating scars on one of America’s most important cultural landscapes and destroy a place that Utahns cherish and want protected,” said Chaitna Sinha, Staff Attorney and Conservation Codirector for the Grand Canyon Trust . “That is why, in a recent poll, Utah voters ranked conservation and protecting Native American places as the most important factors to be considered regarding Bears Ears, while oil/gas and mining ranked lowest. Utah’s congressional delegation needs to listen to Utah voters and take action to protect Bears Ears.”

“Corporations are already salivating at the prospect of destroying the lands we love in order to turn a quick buck,” said Director of the Sierra Club in Utah, Franque Bains. “The fact that nearly triple the number of mining claims have been filed since the first illegal reduction of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante underscores the depravity of an administration that prioritizes development over the people who cherish these landscapes. These treasured places require defending, and we’re committed to continue to restore their protections.”

“With 72 mining claims staked on lands withdrawn from Bears Ears over the last three weeks alone, the threat of a modern-day mineral rush has arrived at one of our nation’s most treasured landscapes,” said Sara Cawley, Energy Director at the National Parks Conservation Association. “The newest claims are located to the north and west of Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah’s first National Park unit and the world’s first International Dark Sky Park, that protects three amazing natural bridge formations and numerous archaeological sites. Even worse, mining companies won’t pay a cent in royalties for the minerals they extract or any fee to clean up the mess they may leave behind.“

Background Information on other Mining claims: 

Under President Trump’s proclamations decimating Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante by over 90%, mining claims could not be staked until 60 days after the date of the proclamation: Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. Despite this, on July 14, 2026, Kimmerle Mining filed 7 mining claims (see map) with the San Juan County (Utah) Recorder’s Office. Kimmerle Mining previously filed mining claims after Trump’s 2017 reduction of Bears Ears and excavated a partially reclaimed mine shaft on one of the claims – the so-called Easy Peasy claim (this mine has been re-buried); Kyle Kimmerle (a Managing Member of Kimmerle Mining) was also a plaintiff in one of the cases filed in the District of Utah challenging President Biden’s 2021 restoration of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.  

Two mining claims were also filed in Grand Staircase-Escalante, less than one month after Trump’s attack. On August 6, 2026, Craig Rosequist filed two mining claims (see map) with the Kane County (Utah) Recorder’s Office in areas cut out of the monument by the Trump proclamations. According to public records, Rosequist previously located several mining claims in neighboring Washington County, Utah. The Bureau of Land Management should reject claims filed in both national monuments prior to Sept. 11. 

• Map of 2026 claims in Bear Ears, showing the 2021 and 2026 Monument Boundaries and noting the location of the Easy Peasy Mine, created by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA)
• Map of 2026 Claims in Grand Staircase-Escalante, created by SUWA
• Photo and video assets of Kimmerle’s Easy Peasy Mine and surrounding claims, please credit Tim Peterson. 
  • Gallery & Gdrive 
  • Video b-roll

Background information about the national monument reductions:

• Statements from Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal coalitions
• SUWA Statement on Trump’s Illegal Reductions of Grand Staircase-Escalante & Bears Ears National Monuments
• Full Statement and Quotes Tracking
• Maps of the reductions
• Reporter Background Memo on National Monuments

###
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters from around the country dedicated to protecting America’s redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, our team of professionals defends the redrock, organizes support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, and stewards a world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org.

The post In Less Than a Month, Mining Claims Filed in Bears Ears Already Triple the Total Number Filed During Previous Trump Reduction appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

SUWA Files Lawsuit, Mining Claims Begin as Backlash Grows Over Attack on National Monuments

SUWA and Partners Sue Over Monument Reductions
On September 2, SUWA and longtime partners Earthjustice and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) jointly filed litigation in U.S. District Court in Washington, DC against Trump’s illegal reductions of Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments (Earthjustice is representing several other conservation groups in the case). We have asked the court to reopen our previous lawsuit against President Trump’s 2017 monument rollbacks (which was put on hold following President Biden’s restorations) and have updated the case to challenge both sets of illegal proclamations. Two additional coalitions also filed to reopen their litigation defending the monuments, and we expect Tribal Nations to file their own litigation soon.

First Mining Claims Filed on Lands Cut from Bears Ears
Lands cut from both national monuments became subject to mining claims on September 11 (60 days after Trump slashed them by 90%). By noon of that day, 16 new claims were filed on lands previously protected as part of Bears Ears National Monument, and another seven have been filed since. The 23 new claims are in three general areas: Lockhart Basin; Cheese and Raisins Hills near the old, reburied Easy Peasy Mine; and near Natural Bridges National Monument (see our press release). As of today, there have been no claims filed in Grand Staircase-Escalante.

SUWA is committed to defending both landscapes against new mining activity within the monuments’ original boundaries. Stay tuned for future updates.

Members of Congress Sign Letters Opposing Trump’s Actions
Earlier this month, 71 members of the U.S. House of Representatives signed onto Rep. Jared Huffman’s (D-CA-02) letter opposing the illegal reductions of Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears. A similar letter was signed by 37 senators in August, led by Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Dick Durbin (D-IL).

The letters argue that the Trump administration’s removal of national monument protections from nearly three million acres of public land threatens irreplaceable cultural, historical, ecological, and recreational resources and undermines the Antiquities Act. They also raise serious concerns about the lack of consultation with Tribal Nations and the termination of the Bears Ears Commission (composed of five Tribal Nations), which works collaboratively with federal agencies to manage and steward Bears Ears. 

New Poll Shows Two-Thirds of Utah Voters Support Restoration of Monuments
According to a recent poll conducted by public opinion research firm New Bridge Strategy, two-thirds of Utah voters say greater protections should be restored to all of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. Additionally, 73% support the ability of presidents to protect public lands as national monuments, and 82% believe it’s important for Native American Tribes to have a strong role in managing public lands containing sacred or culturally significant sites. 

The survey is consistent with results from the firm’s 2024 poll, which revealed overwhelming support for both monuments. Yet Utah’s elected officials remain so completely out of touch with their constituents that they stood behind President Trump and applauded as he slashed the monuments’ boundaries by 90%.

Grand Staircase-Escalante Turns 30!
Amid the turmoil and uncertainty caused by Trump’s actions, it’s important that we pause to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Its original designation by President Bill Clinton on September 18, 1996 was the culmination of decades of grassroots action to protect this magnificent landscape from drilling, coal mining, and other threats. The first national monument to be managed by the Bureau of Land Management, it soon became world-renowned for its remarkable paleontological discoveries, stunning scenery, and diverse natural ecosystems. Though the entrance signs have been dismantled by the Trump administration, love for “the science monument” remains strong, and so does our resolve to see its protections fully restored.

Photo © Mark Teague

Deadline Alert: Submit Your Comments in Support of Quiet, Roadless Forests!

As part of its systematic dismantling of America’s public lands, the Trump administration is proposing to rescind or revise two separate rules that affect the health and safety of national forest lands nationwide. In Utah, this includes the important watersheds of the Manti-La Sal, Dixie, Fishlake, Ashley, and Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forests.

The U.S. Forest Service’s Travel Management Rule determines where off-road vehicles (ORVs) can travel across national forests and grasslands. The administration’s proposed revision places a heavy thumb on the scale to prioritize ORV use at the expense of all other uses and values, including the protection of wildlife, cultural sites, healthy streams, and the solitude of wild places. The deadline for submitting public comments is TODAY, Wednesday, September 23. Please tell the Forest Service to keep the Travel Management Rule intact!

A separate proposal to rescind the Roadless Rule puts nearly 45 million acres of roadless public land nationwide (including roughly 4 million acres of Forest Service land in Utah) at greater risk of logging, roadbuilding, mining, and other industrial development. The comment deadline for this one is Tuesday, October 6. Please tell the Forest Service to preserve the Roadless Rule!

Photo © Tim Peterson

Support Continues to Grow for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act

The latest cosponsors of America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act (HR 2467/S 1193) are Rep. Gabe Amo (D-RI-1), Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT-At Large), Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL-2), and Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA-2). If any of these legislators represent you, please thank them for their support! The full list of cosponsors in the 119th Congress can be found here.

America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act aims to permanently protect over 8 million acres of Bureau of Land Management land in Utah as federally designated wilderness. Congressional support for this visionary legislation provides a powerful counterweight to the political forces seeking to develop and privatize public lands in Utah. If your representative and/or senators have not signed onto the bill, please ask them to cosponsor today!

Photo © Ray Bloxham/SUWA

What We’ve Been Reading

We wanted to share with you some interesting perspectives on politics and public lands the SUWA staff has been reading (and listening to) lately.

• What Are We Doing to Our World of Wonder? – A New York Times Op-Ed on the Trump administration’s defanging of the Endangered Species Act by author and SUWA Board Member Emerita Terry Tempest Williams.
  
  
• What’s the Matter with Utah? How a state trapped by its own history became Congress’ most aggressive threat to public lands—and suddenly out of step with a changing conservative West – A Re:Public piece by freelance journalist Christopher Solomon.
  
  
• The quiet process that protects Utah’s heritage is under threat – A Salt Lake Tribune Op-Ed by Brandy Strand and Tina Hart, leaders of Preservation Utah and the Utah Professional Archaeological Council.
  
  
• On Common Ground: An American Inheritance – A podcast episode on the Trump administration’s public land giveaways, hosted by Bill Hedden (former executive director of the Grand Canyon Trust) and John Leshy (former Interior Department Solicitor).

The post September 2026 Redrock Report appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
September 17, 2026

Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org
Keri Gilliland, The Wilderness Society, (KGilliland@tws.org)
Chaitna Sinha, Conservation Codirector and Staff Attorney, Grand Canyon Trust; (970) 399-9565 (csinha@grandcanyontrust.org)
Amy Dominguez, Sierra Club, amy.dominguez@sierraclub.org, (385) 355-4631
Kris Deutschman, Conservation Lands Foundation, kris@conservationlands.org, (505) 498-0212
Andrew Scibetta, NRDC, (202) 289-2421, ascibetta@nrdc.org
Daniel Hernandez, National Parks Conservation Association, dhernandez@npca.org, (202) 573-2201

Washington, DC – Anti-public-lands crusader Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has taken a significant step towards fast-tracking the destruction of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, and all the things that make it a national treasure. This week, Lee added the recently issued Government Accountability Office (GAO) opinion regarding the Monument’s Management Plan to the Congressional Record. Under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), following the entry of the opinion into the Congressional Record, a “resolution of disapproval” may be introduced (anticipated to occur soon), and then both chambers of Congress can expedite their votes and pass the measures by simple majority votes. If that happens and the resolution is signed into law by the President, the Bears Ears Monument Management Plan – which sets expectations for how the land will be managed for wildlife, outdoor access, dark night skies, grazing, and other uses – will be undone. This could undo the management plan developed through years of Tribal-federal collaboration and speed up the destruction of the landscape, while also blocking a “substantially the same” plan from being enacted in the future.

Sen. Lee’s move comes just days after 16 mining claims were filed in Bears Ears National Monument. The mining bans in both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante only lifted on Friday, September 11, and mining companies are already staking claims in the landscape. Since Trump’s proclamations in July, the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal Coalition, The Navajo Nation Council, the Navajo-Utah Commission, Native American Right Fund – NARF, The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (NATHPO), Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Hopi Tribe, Southern Ute Indian Tribe, 37 U.S. Senators, 330 organizations, faith communities, veteran groups, businesses, and conservation organizations have opposed oppose the evisceration of protections for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. Additional information appears below, along with quotes from conservation groups. 

“Senator Lee’s vision for Bears Ears National Monument is a landscape dominated by exploitation – mining, grazing, logging – if not outright sold to the highest bidder. We’re going to do everything we can to stop that from happening,” said Steve Bloch, Legal Director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. “Bears Ears is a national treasure, and the monument management plan put the guardrails in place to make sure its remarkable cultural resources, unique plants and animals, and stunning, silent redrock canyons are there for current and future generations to enjoy. All of that is at risk if Lee’s attack succeeds and the monument management plan is undone.”                                                                                     

“Senator Lee is at it again,” said Thomas Delehanty, senior attorney with Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain Office. “After failing to eliminate the Grand Staircase-Escalante management plan earlier this year, Lee is now going after the Bears Ears plan instead. This plan, developed through years of public input and collaboration with Tribes, provides essential guidelines on activities that can occur in the monument. Its loss, coupled with Trump’s recent attack on the monument’s boundaries, would be a major blow to these irreplaceable public lands.”

“Bears Ears was already unlawfully reduced by 90%, but that is not enough for Senator Lee. Now he wants to eliminate the Bears Ears management plan, developed through years of public input and close collaboration with the Bears Ears Commission,” said Chaitna Sinha, Staff Attorney and Conservation Codirector at the Grand Canyon Trust. “This is despite the fact that, just last month, polling showed that a majority (66%) of Utahns said protections should be restored to all of Bears Ears and 82% say Native American tribes should have a strong role in managing their ancestral lands, including 76% of Republicans. Senator Lee needs to start listening to his constituents and stop his relentless attacks on our public lands. Utahns want Bears Ears protected.”

“This is a shameful attempt to erase decades of partnership between the U.S. government and the Tribes, the original stewards of this land,” said Charlie Luke, Utah state director at The Wilderness Society. “Instead, Senator Lee wants to open our public lands to the highest bidders, putting cultural resources, clean water and wildlife at risk while threatening our freedom to experience Bears Ears and hand it down intact to future generations.” 

“Bears Ears is a living cultural landscape and an irreplaceable part of Utah’s public lands. Its management plan reflects years of public input and historic collaboration with the Tribal Nations that have stewarded this landscape since time immemorial,” said Franque Bains, Director of the Sierra Club’s Utah Chapter. “Senator Lee’s effort would throw that work aside and put Bears Ears at even greater risk. Utahns have made clear that they want our public lands protected and Tribal Nations to have a strong voice in caring for their ancestral lands. Congress should listen to them and leave this plan in place.”

“This is yet another attack on Bears Ears,” said Bobby McEnaney, Senior Land Analyst at NRDC. “The Trump administration is already attempting to decimate the monument. Now Utah’s congressional delegation wants to erase the collaborative management plan that remains. The theme is clear: disregard for the Tribes, the science, and the public consensus that built Bears Ears’ protections. Congress should reject this effort outright.”

“Senator Lee’s irrational quest to annihilate Bears Ears and every other acre of public land goes against the values and priorities of the majority of Utahns and the rest of the country,” said Chris Hill, CEO of the Conservation Lands Foundation. “A real leader listens to what the people want and stands up to corporate interests. That’s clearly not the case with Senator Lee and we trust the rest of Congress will oppose this madness and waste of attention and get to the business of protecting the public’s access to the national monuments, national parks, and other landscapes that Americans want.”

“After the president shrank Bears Ears National Monument by 91 percent, Sen. Mike Lee and other Utah leaders are now attempting to overturn the management plan of the 9 percent of what is left,” said Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert. “This is a deliberate undermining of Tribal sovereignty in one of the most culturally significant places in the country, and the recently filed mining claims give us a glimpse of what the future of the monument might be. Patagonia stands with the Tribal Nations, conservationists, activists and local communities speaking up to protect Bears Ears.” 

“No one in D.C. is more obsessed with tearing apart our public lands than Mike Lee,” said Melissa Cain at the Center for Biological Diversity. “His latest attack on Bears Ears is a pathetic insult to the five Tribal Nations and everyone else who worked tirelessly to secure protections for this national monument. These lands are a cherished part of our national and cultural heritage and they belong to every American. We’ll do everything in our power to ensure his cynical effort fails as spectacularly as his previous attempts have.”

Additional information about Senator Lee’s Attack: 

In April 2026, Senator Lee requested an opinion from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) about whether Congress can overturn the current Bears Ears Monument Management Plan; on August 17, the GAO released its opinion that Congress can undo the plan. Earlier this year, using the same mechanism, Utah’s federal delegation, led by Senator Lee and Representative Celeste Maloy (R-UT-02), attempted to undo the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Management Plan. Tribal Nations, hunters and anglers, recreationists, local businesses, scientists, faith leaders, and members of the public from across Utah and the country spoke out loudly against this unfounded attack on one of the nation’s public lands gems. Lee and Maloy’s fast-track attack failed on June 12, 2026.

Just a month later, on July 13, 2026, President Trump illegally decimated both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by reducing each of them by over 90%. Significantly, until new management plans are finalized, the existing plans for each National Monument remain in place. That means the current plans will still manage activities in the monuments, with at least one major exception: mining. Trump’s proclamations directed that on September 11, 2026, the lands he cut out of both monuments be opened to new mining claims. Conservation groups challenged Trump’s illegal reductions of both Monuments on Tuesday, Sept. 9 in Federal Court.

Additional information about Bears Ears National Monument 

Beloved by Utahns and Americans, Bears Ears National Monument is a region of extraordinary cultural significance and natural diversity. On December 28, 2016, President Obama used his authority under the Antiquities Act to establish Bears Ears National Monument, protecting both a cultural landscape that has been home to Tribal Nations from time immemorial and some of the wildest redrock country in the nation. The proclamation elevated the voices of Tribal Nations that have ancestral ties to the region. Nearly 100,000 archaeological and cultural sites were protected by the proclamation, including House on Fire and Moon House.

The Bears Ears proposal was led by the five Tribal Nations that would later comprise the “Bears Ears Commission:” the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, the Pueblo of Zuni, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and Ute Indian Tribe. On December 4, 2017, President Trump ignored millions of public comments and in a brazenly illegal act repealed Bears Ears National Monument, replacing it with two much smaller, non-contiguous units totaling around 200,000 acres (an 85% reduction). His unprecedented action left rare archaeological sites, unique flora and fauna, and stunning wildlands without protection from looting, uranium mining, oil and gas drilling, and off-road vehicle damage. 

Thankfully, on October 8, 2021, President Biden signed a proclamation restoring Bears Ears National Monument to its full, original boundaries—plus an additional 11,200 acres added to the Trump-era Indian Creek unit. National monuments are overwhelmingly popular. In 2022, the BLM and U.S. Forest Service, in collaboration with the Bears Ears Commission, began the process of developing a management plan to govern the Bears Ears National Monument. This was a crucial partnership to ensure that the monument is managed for its unique and extraordinary values, including the wealth of sacred objects and places of importance to the Tribal Nations of the Commission. 

The Bears Ears Commission played a central role in developing the 2025 Bears Ears Resource Management Plan, an unprecedented collaborative framework that brings Traditional Indigenous Knowledge and western science together to guide stewardship of Bears Ears National Monument. Following passage of the Resource Management Plan, the Commission worked with the agencies to implement the Resource Management Plan, up until President Trump purported to eliminate the Commission in his July 2026 proclamation.

About the Congressional Review Act (CRA)

The CRA is a federal statute enacted in March 1996 that requires federal agencies to submit “rules” to Congress for a mandatory review period “before they may take effect.” If Congress votes to overturn, or “disapprove,” the rule, it “may not be reissued in substantially the same form. . . .” The BLM has long maintained that its land management plans are not “rules” subject to the CRA. Other federal land management agencies, including the USFS,  and National Park Service, have similarly not submitted their land management plans to Congress under the CRA.

However, emboldened by a series of non-binding Government Accountability Office (GAO) opinions, Republican members of Congress have embraced the novel theory that federal land management plans are in fact “rules” subject to the CRA. The 119th Congress has passed seven CRA resolutions overturning previously finalized land management plans or other types of public lands management decisions. The GAO issued a decision regarding the Bears Ears Monument Management Plan on August 17, 2026.

###
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters from around the country dedicated to protecting America’s redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, our team of professionals defends the redrock, organizes support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, and stewards this world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org.

The post Senator Lee formally begins process to fast-track the destruction of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah – 9.17.26  appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
September 16, 2026

Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org
Keri Gilliland, The Wilderness Society, (KGilliland@tws.org)
Chaitna Sinha, Conservation Codirector and Staff Attorney, Grand Canyon Trust; (970) 399-9565 (csinha@grandcanyontrust.org)
Amy Dominguez, Sierra Club, amy.dominguez@sierraclub.org, (385) 355-4631
Kris Deutschman, Conservation Lands Foundation, kris@conservationlands.org, (505) 498-0212
Andrew Scibetta, NRDC, (202) 289-2421, ascibetta@nrdc.org
Daniel Hernandez, National Parks Conservation Association, dhernandez@npca.org, (202) 573-2201

SAN JUAN COUNTY, UT – 16 new mining claims (see map) have been filed in previously protected land in Bears Ears National Monument. These lands became subject to mining claims on Friday, September 11 – 60 days after President Trump decimated Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante by shrinking these national monuments by over 90%. All 16 claims were recorded on September 11 by noon; it took until Tuesday, September 15 for them to appear in the San Juan County Recorder’s Office’s online system.

The new mining claims (see map) are in two general areas: Lockhart Basin & near the Easy Peasy Mine (the mine has been re-buried). Three Claims were filed by George W. Schultz in the Lockhart Basin area. 13 claims were filed by Kimmerle Mining; two of these claims are adjustments to the Easy Peasy claims first filed after Trump’s 2017 reduction of Bears Ears and 11 are new claims nearby. Kyle Kimmerle (a Managing Member of Kimmerle Mining) was also a plaintiff in one of the cases filed challenging President Biden’s 2021 restoration of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. On July 14, 2026, Kimmerle Mining illegally attempted to file seven mining claims prior to the Sept. 11 deadline. Additional information appears below, along with quotes from Tribal leaders and conservation groups. 

“This rush to locate new mining claims in Bears Ears National Monument reinforces the need to be vigilant over the next several years while we work to undo Trump’s illegal actions and restore both Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments.“said Hanna Larsen, Staff Attorney at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “As evidenced by the Easy Peasy Mine, claims like these often lead to real and long-lasting damage to the very qualities that make these monuments so special.”

“Immediately after the mining ban was lifted, 16 claims were filed on the lands removed from Bears Ears National Monument,” said Charlie Luke, Utah state director at The Wilderness Society. “This is not a hypothetical threat, it’s the reality of what happens when national monument protections are gutted. We cannot allow special interests to turn a profit on Bears Ears at the expense of future generations.” 

“The speed with which the mining industry moved to stake claims following the dismantling of the Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments demonstrates the real-world consequences of stripping protections from some of America’s most important landscapes,” said Bobby McEnaney, Senior Lands Analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “This sequence of events underscores exactly why Bears Ears was originally established and why this landscape deserves lasting protection. These mining claims amount to a virtual giveaway of public lands.”

“The administration put some of America’s greatest heritage at risk when it opened up Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante for mining,” said Chaitna Sinha, Staff Attorney and Conservation Codirector for the Grand Canyon Trust. “The 16 new mining claims in Bears Ears follow a poll in which the vast majority of Utahns said protections should be restored to all of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, including 52% of Republicans. 82% of those polled said that Native American tribes should have a strong role in managing lands they hold sacred. It’s a shame our elected officials aren’t listening to the people who elected them. Most Utah voters want these monuments restored to their original boundaries and want tribes to be partners in their management.” 

“Within days of the illegal reduction of these treasured public lands, industry interests are already lining up to exploit them,” said Franque Bains, Chapter Director of the Sierra Club in Utah. “This rush makes clear the consequences of the Trump administration illegally stripping protections from Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante: Irreplaceable cultural landscapes and public lands are being put at risk for corporate profit. We will continue working alongside Tribal nations, local communities, and our partners to defend these landscapes and restore the protections they deserve.” 

“Sixteen new mining claims within days of the deadline is proof that this was never about public access — it’s about clearing the way for extraction,” said Chris Hill, CEO of the Conservation Lands Foundation. “BLM Director Pearce and Governor Cox like to talk about keeping lands open for the public, but when mining companies raced to stake claims on sacred and treasured landscapes, they gave them the green light. This tells you who they’re really working for. A recent Grand Canyon Trust poll found that 52% of Utah Republicans want protections restored to all of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, and 82% say tribes should have a strong role in managing the lands they hold sacred. Utahns have made themselves clear — it’s their leaders who refuse to listen. We’re going to keep fighting, in court and in communities, until these monuments and the integrity of the entire public lands system are restored.”

“The arguments about access in Bears Ears were clearly about energy extraction, and mining companies have wasted no time staking new claims,” said Sara Cawley, Energy Director at the National Parks Conservation Association. “Three of the claims are located in the Lockhart Basin, a spectacular landscape that contains numerous cultural and archaeological sites and sits next to Canyonlands National Park’s eastern boundary. National park units and their surrounding landscapes are no place for energy development, but outdated laws elevate mining above all other uses on these lands. We will continue to fight to prevent these special places, surrounding communities, and sovereign tribes from being undermined and exploited.”

Background Information on other Mining claims: 

Under President Trump’s proclamations decimating Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante by over 90%, mining claims could not be staked until 60 days after the date of the proclamation: Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. Despite this, on July 14, 2026, Kimmerle Mining filed 7 mining claims (see map) with the San Juan County (Utah) Recorder’s Office. Kimmerle Mining previously filed mining claims after Trump’s 2017 reduction of Bears Ears and excavated a partially reclaimed mine shaft on one of the claims – the so-called Easy Peasy claim (this mine has been re-buried); Kyle Kimmerle (a Managing Member of Kimmerle Mining) was also a plaintiff in one of the cases filed in the District of Utah challenging President Biden’s 2021 restoration of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.  

Two mining claims were also filed in Grand Staircase-Escalante, less than one month after Trump’s attack. On August 6, 2026, Craig Rosequist filed two mining claims (see map) with the Kane County (Utah) Recorder’s Office in areas cut out of the monument by the Trump proclamations. According to public records, Rosequist previously located several mining claims in neighboring Washington County, Utah. The Bureau of Land Management should reject claims filed in both national monuments prior to Sept. 11. 

• Map of 2026 claims in Bear Ears, showing the 2021 and 2026 Monument Boundaries and noting the location of the Easy Peasy Mine, created by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA)
• Map of 2026 Claims in Grand Staircase-Escalante, created by SUWA
• Photo and video assets of Kimmerle’s Easy Peasy Mine and surrounding claims, please credit Tim Peterson. 
  • Gallery & Gdrive 
  • Video b-roll

Background information about the national monument reductions:

• Statements from Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal coalitions
• SUWA Statement on Trump’s Illegal Reductions of Grand Staircase-Escalante & Bears Ears National Monuments
• Full Statement and Quotes Tracking
• Maps of the reductions
• Reporter Background Memo on National Monuments

###
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters from around the country dedicated to protecting America’s redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, our team of professionals defends the redrock, organizes support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, and stewards a world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org.

The post First Mining Claims Filed in Lands Cut from Bears Ears National Monument – 9.16.26 appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

The U.S. Forest Service is rewriting its longstanding Travel Management Rule, which determines where off-road vehicles (ORVs) can travel across national forests and grasslands. This is the tool that land managers use to designate areas and trails for motorized use while also setting aside areas for human-powered recreation, wildlife habitat, and preservation of cultural sites.

The Trump administration wants to change—for the worse—how Utahns and other visitors experience national forests throughout the state, from the Wasatch Front to the redrock country outside of Escalante, Kanab, and Moab. The proposal places a heavy thumb on the scale to prioritize ORV use at the expense of all other uses and values, including the protection of wildlife, cultural sites, healthy streams, and the solitude of wild places. This will not improve access to public lands, but it will make the experience worse for all users, including hikers, bikers, hunters, anglers, and ORV riders.

The Forest Service is accepting public comments through Wednesday, September 23. Please tell the agency to protect national forests by keeping the Travel Management Rule intact!

 Among other things, the Forest Service’s proposal would:

• Allow motorized vehicles everywhere on national forests and grasslands except where they are specifically prohibited, flipping longstanding policy.
  
  
• Force every forest or district to reconsider each year whether non-motorized trails, roads, and areas should be open to motorized vehicles.
  
  
• Create new pathways to expand ORV use with less public review.
  
  
• Eliminate the “minimization criteria,” which require the agency to locate motorized areas and trails to minimize damage to wildlife habitat, soils, watersheds, and vegetation and to minimize conflicts between different users.

In Utah, national forest lands help connect Bureau of Land Management landscapes proposed for wilderness designation in America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act. These include the important watersheds of the Manti-La Sal, Dixie, and Fishlake National Forests.

There are already hundreds of thousands of miles of Forest Service roads nationwide, and they’re facing a $9 billion maintenance backlog. Added to that is a $300 million Forest Service trail maintenance backlog and a $29 million recreation backlog. An expanded route system will only exacerbate these problems.

Both the proposed Travel Management Rule change and the proposed rescission of the Roadless Rule (see our alert from earlier this week) are part of the administration’s systematic dismantling of the rules and safeguards that keep national forests healthy and safe for the benefit of all. Undoing these rules will bring increased chaos and uncertainty for everyone who uses national forests.

The post Tell the Forest Service to Keep the Travel Management Rule appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

The Trump administration continues its attacks on public lands in its latest push to rescind the Roadless Rule, one of the country’s most important legal safeguards for undeveloped national forests. In August, the U.S. Forest Service moved to the next phase of its rulemaking process, releasing a dangerous proposal to put nearly 45 million acres of roadless public lands nationwide at greater risk of logging, roadbuilding, mining, and other industrial development.

In Utah, the Roadless Rule protects roughly 4 million acres of forest—from the Wasatch Front to the West Desert to southern Utah’s redrock forests—including wildlife habitat, quiet recreation, the headwaters for entire watersheds, and the large, unfragmented landscapes that make the West wild.

Utah does not need more roads. National forests already contain hundreds of thousands of miles of roads nationwide, and there’s a multibillion-dollar maintenance backlog for these existing roads. The Roadless Rule does not close these roads, prevent people from reaching trailheads, or end outdoor recreation. Roadless areas remain open for hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, and other recreation while striking a balance that protects the wildlife and cultural resources many visitors are there to experience and enjoy.

This proposal is really about opening public lands to more industrial development, extraction, and privatization. New roads make commercial logging, mining, drilling, and other damaging development easier while fragmenting habitat, eroding soils, degrading streams, spreading invasive species, and increasing human disturbance in places that have remained largely whole. Opening these areas to new roads doesn’t address wildfire safety and may even increase ignition risk. The Roadless Rule already permits fire suppression, fuels work, and emergency roads when necessary in wildland firefighting.

In Utah, roadless national forest lands help connect Bureau of Land Management landscapes proposed for protection in America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act. Together, these public lands support wildlife migration and climate resilience across Utah’s mountains, plateaus, and redrock country. Fragmenting one part of that system severely weakens the whole.

The deadline for public comments on the Roadless Rule rescission is Tuesday, October 6. Click here to tell the Forest Service why roadless areas matter to you and to the redrock.

Thank you for standing up for Utah’s forests!

The post Speak Up for Wild Forests: Tell the Forest Service to Preserve the Roadless Rule appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

Protecting Utah’s redrock wilderness has never been about a single moment or a single victory. It’s a long, unfolding effort—one that depends on people willing to stand alongside these landscapes for the long haul. That’s why monthly giving matters so much: it’s an ongoing commitment that helps us carry the work forward month after month, year after year. 

Our monthly donors have been part of SUWA’s story for years. This circle of members, whose dependable contributions support our work year-round, is now called “Canyon Keepers.” 

Why Become a Canyon Keeper? 

• Reliable year-round support: Monthly gifts provide consistent funding that allows us to respond immediately to urgent threats and stay engaged in long-term campaigns. 

• It helps us plan ahead: Knowing what we can count on each month helps us budget more effectively, allocate resources wisely, and plan campaigns with confidence. 

• Simple and flexible: Set it up once, adjust it anytime. No hassle—just a continuous, meaningful way to sustain the work you care about. 

Becoming a Canyon Keeper is easy. It only takes a few minutes to set up, and once you do, your gift renews automatically each month. You can increase, decrease, or pause your support at any time. To welcome you to the Canyon Keepers circle, we’ll send you a limited-edition Canyon Wren canvas bag (design by Riley Lubich) to show our gratitude.

The post Meet Canyon Keepers: A New Name for SUWA’s Monthly Giving Program  appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

Back in June, we asked you to submit preliminary scoping comments on a particularly ill-conceived oil and gas lease sale in Utah. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently announced that it’s barreling ahead with this sale and is now accepting comments on the draft proposal, which would auction off some of Utah’s wildest places for fossil fuel development, including parcels in the Dirty Devil and Hatch Point regions. All told, the BLM’s Fourth Quarter Lease Sale would offer 43 parcels spanning more than 74,000 acres of public land in Utah.

The BLM is accepting public comments through Monday, September 21. Please tell the agency to keep oil and gas development out of these scenic, wild landscapes.

The Dirty Devil parcels are in a wild and remote region west of the Horseshoe Canyon unit of Canyonlands National Park and immediately north of the Dirty Devil Wilderness Study Area.

The Hatch Point parcels are located near the mouth of Trough Springs Canyon, south of Moab, and encompass Hatch Canyon and Kane Springs Canyon. These canyons are designated critical habitat for the threatened Mexican Spotted Owl in addition to supporting a wide array of other wildlife. The Hatch Point area also provides expansive views of the nearby Bears Ears region.

In its haste to fall into line with Trump administration priorities, the BLM prepared a draft environmental analysis that falls short of what the law requires. For example, many of the parcels—including those near Bears Ears—are in designated critical habitat for the Mexican Spotted Owl, a species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). However, the agency failed to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about foreseeable impacts to the owl, as required by the ESA. Rather than consult now, the agency kicked the can down the road to the drilling stage when it claims that it may (but likely won’t) fulfill that requirement. This backwards approach is illegal and does nothing to ensure the owl is protected.

SUWA fully intends to hold the BLM accountable for its failure to follow the law. You can help by telling the agency to keep fossil fuel development out of Utah’s remarkable wild landscapes.

The post Tell BLM (Again) to Keep Fossil Fuel Development Out of Utah’s Wild Places appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.