On December 4th,2017, President Trump cut back land protection for two National Park monuments in Utah.

The two National parks that were reduced in Utah were The Bear Ears and The Grand Stairscase Escalate. The Bear Ears National Monument is 1.35 million acres of land that was set aside by Former President Barack Obama in 2016 to preserve the natural environment and the inter-tribal groups who live in the area. Another monument that was cut back was The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. This monument was 1.9 million acres of land. It was set aside by Former President Bill Clinton in 1996. It was also set aside to preserve the environment and the inter-tribal groups who live there.

However, earlier this week, President Trump decided to cut back the size of these lands by giving about 2 million acres in land back to the public. According to a news article in the New York Times, the President said “Some people think that the natural resources of Utah should be controlled by a small handful of very distant bureaucrats located in Washington” at Utah’s State Capitol beneath a painting of Mormon pioneers. “And guess what? They’re wrong.”

His decision to cut back land will allow fossil fuel companies to start drilling for natural resources. This could cause more problems for the environment and it can spur emigration of Native Americans to other places.

The public responded in both agreement and disagreement. According to a news article in the New York Times, Senator Mike Lee of Utah said Trump has “been sympathetic to the fact that we’ve been mistreated, and I’m grateful that he is willing to correct it.” Mr. Lee seems to be satisfied with the decision.

However, others like the Navajo Nation and the Wilderness Society were very upset. “We will stand and fight all the way,” said Russell Begaye, president of the Navajo Nation, adding that the United States government had already taken “millions of acres of my people’s land.” Other groups like the Wilderness Society have filed lawsuits in defense of the monuments.

Many students at ERHS are upset with the decision as well. “That’s stupid and outrageous because there are people living there and now they gotta move,” said a junior named Deborah Dimeli. Another junior, Deanna Dupree, said “I think it’s crazy and Trump is running our country into the ground!” Finally, junior Treyvon Frith said he thinks that “this is greedy on the president’s side. Even though we are running out of oil, people still live on the acres of land.”

With this new decision, the environment will be affected in many ways. People will either benefit or be negatively impacted by the cutback of this land.