Utah Voters Support Restoring National Monument Protections

Utah voters are speaking up for their public lands, and the message is clear: they want protections restored.

New polling shows 69% of Utahns support returning Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments to their original boundaries. The monuments were reduced to less than a quarter of their size, shrinking from over three million acres to just 302,600 acres.

The survey, commissioned by the Grand Canyon Trust and conducted by New Bridge Strategy, reveals surprising consensus in a traditionally conservative state. Nearly three-quarters of Utah voters support the Antiquities Act, which allows presidents to designate national monuments.

"Utahns are currently speaking up, and they're saying that the decision made regarding Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears national monuments being shrunk down are wrong," said Autumn Gillard, cultural resource manager for the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah. She spoke at a press conference announcing the results.

The polling found especially strong support for tribal involvement in managing these lands. A remarkable 82% of Utahns say tribal voices matter for managing the sites, and 69% opposed terminating the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition.

That coalition had pioneered groundbreaking co-stewardship efforts before being dissolved. The partnership brought together five tribes with ancestral connections to the land to help guide its protection.

The downsizing opened the area to mining interests, which have already begun staking claims. But 81% of Utahns oppose selling public lands to private interests, a policy some state Republicans have advocated.

The Ripple Effect

This polling reflects a broader shift in Western attitudes toward public lands. Colorado College's Conservation in the West Poll found 91% of Western voters support keeping existing national monument designations intact.

Davina Smith-Idjesa, a Navajo Nation member and part of both monuments' inter-tribal coalitions, sees hope in the numbers. "These findings are profoundly telling and should not be ignored," she said. "They reflect broad support within Utah for protecting these national monuments and ensuring that tribal nations have a meaningful and lasting role in their future."

The monuments protect scores of archaeological sites and some of the country's last intact landscapes. These aren't just rocks and desert—they're living classrooms of ancient history and sacred spaces for multiple tribal nations.

Environmental groups have filed lawsuits challenging the downsizing, joining forces with conservation organizations and outdoor apparel maker Patagonia. The legal battles continue, but the polling suggests they have the backing of Utah residents.

When communities come together to protect what matters most, democracy works the way it should.