Creation Justice Ministries Grieves Attacks on Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments for Second Time

WASHINGTON - On July 13th, 2026, President Trump signed two proclamations attempting to reduce the boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument by a total of nearly 3 million acres.  

These drastic measures follow unlawful actions taken during the first Trump Administration, when protections for both national monuments were significantly reduced in 2017. President Biden restored protections for both monuments in 2021. 

As Christians, we believe caring for Creation is a moral responsibility. We are committed to taking an active role in the work of remembering, repenting, healing from, and never repeating historic racial injustices. National Monuments like Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante  are not just economic assets – they are home to our Indigenous neighbors, hold significant cultural significance, and are among some of the most pristine places on earth. Protecting this sacred land has profound ecological, social and moral implications. 

Hopi, Navajo, Ute Mountain Ute, and Zuni tribes share ancestral heritage in both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments. Bears Ears National Monument is the first and only national monument with official tribal appointees serving as the primary advisory body for managing their spiritual, cultural, and natural heritage. Over 30 tribes from throughout the nation have ancestral, historical and contemporary ties to Bears Ears and have expressed support for the monument. Dishonoring the sovereignty of Native Nations and the federal government’s duty of Tribal consultation, these proclamations revoked a landmark Tribal co-stewardship framework for Grand Staircase-Escalante and historic federal and intertribal collaborative management authority for Bears Ears.

“Christians across this country should be deeply grieved by and alarmed about the continuing attacks on our National Monuments” said Derrick Weston, Acting Executive Director for Creation Justice Ministries. “For too long this nation has undervalued and ignored the Indigenous wisdom that has made caring for these ancestral lands a sacred obligation. The God-given responsibility to protect these sacred spaces belongs to all of us and it is past time for us to listen to the wisdom that our brothers and sisters have used to steward this land for centuries.”  

Creation Justice Ministries calls on the Administration to rectify racial injustice by protecting these sacred lands of God’s Creation. 

About Creation Justice Ministries:
Creation Justice Ministries represents the creation care policies of 38 Christian communions, including Baptists, Mainline Protestants, Orthodox, and Peace churches. We educate, equip, and mobilize Christian communities to protect, restore, and rightly share God's creation. For questions: Contact Madison Mayhew, Policy and Advocacy Manager: [email protected]