The Trump administration’s new and smaller boundaries for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments may not generate many immediate requests from energy companies to mine or drill on the 2 million acres of land, said the Associated Press. The Interior Department declined to say how many claims have been filed but a trade group said low uranium prices would “discourage any investment in new claims'” in the Bears Ears territory of Utah.
Oil, gas and coal exploration have been mentioned as a possibility for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante. A Colorado energy company told the AP that the best land for drilling probably was claimed before Bears Ears was designated a national monument in 2016. Declining demand for coal would blunt interest in coal reserves in the Grand Staircase-Escalante region, said a Utah state official. President Trump signed proclamations at the Utah state capitol last December to remove 2 million acres (3,125 square miles) from the two monuments and collectively reduce them to less than 40 percent of their original size.
A federal judge consolidated the five lawsuits challenging Trump’s actions into two cases — one dealing with Bears Ears and the other with Grand Staircase-Escalante, said the Salt Lake Tribune. The Justice Department wants the cases to be heard in federal court in Utah, rather than the District of Columbia, where they were filed. Judge Tanya Chutkan, who consolidated the cases, has not ruled on the venue for the trials. Tribal, environmental and scientific groups filed the suits.