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Monuments being reduced hold cliff dwellings, scenic cliffs

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Two national monuments in Utah that President Donald Trump is going to significantly reduce include ancient cliff dwellings and scenic canyons as well as areas that could be used for energy development.

Trump made his announcement about Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments during a speech Monday in Salt Lake City. The sites were among 27 that Trump ordered U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to review this year.

Environmental groups plan to take Trump to court to preserve the original boundaries of the monuments.

A closer look at the two monuments set to be downsized:

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BEARS EARS NATIONAL MONUMENT

Barack Obama created the monument shortly before leaving the White House, marking a victory for Native Americans and conservationists. It was a blow to Republican leaders who campaigned to prevent what they call a layer of unnecessary federal control that hurts local economies by closing the area to new energy development.

Tucked between existing national parks and the Navajo Nation, the monument is on land considered sacred to a coalition of tribes and is home to an estimated 100,000 archaeological sites. Tribal members visit the area to perform ceremonies, collect herbs and wood for medicinal and spiritual purposes, and do healing rituals.

The monument features a mix of cliffs, plateaus, towering rock formations, rivers and canyons. It brings visitors to enjoy hiking, backpacking, canyoneering, mountain biking and rock climbing.

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GRAND STAIRCASE ESCALANTE NATIONAL MONUMENT

As president, Bill Clinton created the monument in 1996 to preserve scenic cliffs, canyons, waterfalls and arches. Actor and Utah resident Robert Redford appeared at the ceremony.

In heavily Republican Utah, the move was viewed as federal overreach that still irks GOP officials. Many Utah Republicans and some residents say it closed off too many areas to development - including one of the country's largest known coal reserves - that could have helped pay for schools.

Zinke noted in a memo to Trump that "several billion tons of coal and large oil deposits" lie within the monument's boundaries. He also said that while the amount of cattle grazing allowed there is the same as it was in 1996, the number of cows has decreased because of restrictions on moving water lines, vegetation management and maintenance of fences and roads.

FILE - In this undated file photo, the Upper Gulch section of the Escalante Canyons within Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument features sheer sandstone walls, broken occasionally by tributary canyons. Utah has long stood out for going far beyond other Western states in trying to get back control of its federally protected lands. When President Donald Trump on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, announces he's going to shrink two national monuments in the state, his warm welcome will stand out in a region that is normally protective of its parks and monuments. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac, File) The Associated Press
President Donald Trump stands with Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, left, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, center, after arriving at the Ronald R Wright National Air Guard Base in Salt Lake City on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017. (Scott Sommerdorf/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP) The Associated Press
Protesters gather before a visit by President Donald Trump to announce that he is scaling back two sprawling national monuments, Monday Dec. 4, 2017, in Salt Lake City. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP) The Associated Press
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