Proclamation 2026-14548 explained · Proclamation
Modifying the Bears Ears National Monument
Signed: 2026-07-13 Published: 2026-07-17 Federal Register document: 2026-14548
Agencies: Executive Office of the President
What Proclamation 2026-14548 says
Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 136 (Friday, July 17, 2026) [Federal Register Volume 91, Number 136 (Friday, July 17, 2026)] [Presidential Documents] [Pages 45169-45177] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2026-14548] Presidential Documents Federal Register / Vol. 91 , No. 136 / Friday, July 17, 2026 / Presidential Documents [[Page 45169]] Proclamation 11043 of July 13, 2026 Modifying the Bears Ears National Monument By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation On December 28, 2016, President Obama issued Proclamation 9558, which established the Bears Ears National Monument (Monument) in the State of Utah; reserved approximately 1.35 million acres of Federal land as part of the Monument; and directed that the Monument be jointly managed by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Department of Agriculture's United States Forest Service (USFS). On December 4, 2017, exercising my authority under section 320301 of title 54, United States Code (the ``Antiquities Act''), I issued Proclamation 9681 to modify the boundaries of the Monument in accordance with the requirements of that Act, as well as to ensure the Monument's proper management. Proclamation 9681 excluded approximately 1.15 million acres from the Monument, and also reserved approximately 11,200 acres as part...
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What should happen instead
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National Monument Boundary Adjustment Act of 2026
Modify the boundaries of the Bears Ears National Monument to reduce its size and adjust management priorities, as justified by the need to balance conservation with local economic and cultural interests.
Bipartisan rationale: Both parties would prefer this statute over unilateral executive action because it affirms Congress’s constitutional role over federal lands (Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2) and provides a predictable, transparent process. Democrats gain mandatory environmental review, tribal consultation, and a five-year moratorium on new monument changes. Republicans gain a clear congressional approval mechanism, local input, and a sunset that forces reauthorization. This protects institutional integrity by preventing the executive from unilaterally altering land designations that Congress could have created itself.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2 Amendment V Amendment X
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