Within hours of the Trump administration opening most of Bears Ears National Monument to mining, prospectors staked 16 claims on the land in southeast Utah. The monument, originally established by President Obama in 2016, had been reduced by roughly 85–90 percent this summer, reversing the restoration of its boundaries under President Biden. All of the initial claims appear to come from small-scale local operators, including an off-roading guide and a family mining business, several with ties to uranium exploration.
Environmental groups like the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance expressed alarm at the speed of the filings, fearing a wave of hobbyist miners who may leave pollution and disturbance behind. One attorney for the group said such claims could damage the very resources the monument was meant to protect. Meanwhile, one claimant described staking a claim as just a "step" in a longer process, noting that lands outside monument protections are intended for multiple uses.
The political back-and-forth over Bears Ears—shrunk by Trump, restored and expanded by Biden, then shrunk again—has left the area in a state of uncertainty. With the land now open to business, the immediate rush to claim it suggests that the protections once in place may be difficult to reinstate without lasting consequences.