FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 28, 2026
Over 40 Mining Claims Filed in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, including at least 13 within shrunken boundaries
Since Trump’s reductions, 110+ claims filed in Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante
Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org
Dr. Jacqualine Grant, Executive Director, Grand Staircase Escalante Partners (GSEP); (435) 269-1237 (jackie@gsenm.org)
Keri Gilliland, The Wilderness Society, (KGilliland@tws.org)
Chaitna Sinha, Conservation Codirector and Staff Attorney, Grand Canyon Trust; (970) 399-9565 (csinha@grandcanyontrust.org)
Amy Dominguez, Sierra Club, amy.dominguez@sierraclub.org, (385) 355-4631
Andrew Scibetta, NRDC, (202) 289-2421, ascibetta@nrdc.org
Daniel Hernandez, National Parks Conservation Association, dhernandez@npca.org, (202) 573-2201
GARFIELD COUNTY, UT – 41 new mining claims (see map) have recently been located in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument – 13 in the shrunken Monument, six that may be in the shrunken Monument, and 22 in lands that were previously protected. The previously protected lands became subject to mining claims on Friday, September 11 – 60 days after President Trump decimated Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears by shrinking these national monuments by over 90%. Lands within the reduced Monument remain closed to mining claims and any/all newly located claims here are invalid.
The new mining claims (see map), all filed by Dan W. Proctor, are in three general areas: (1) Colt Mesa (Dan and his son Nick acquired mining claims filed during the previous Trump reduction by Glacier Lake Resources, a Canadian company. Neither Glacier Lake nor the Proctors have developed these claims.); (2) near Studhorse Peaks; and (3) on the northern edge of the reduced Monument, close to where it borders the Dixie National Forest, south of the Circle Cliffs. 13 of the claims near Colt Mesa are in the reduced monument boundaries and six more may be.
The exact location of the 6 mining claims won’t be confirmed until the paperwork accompanying the recordation of the claims is reviewed. It is also impossible to know at this stage the actual footprint of any mining operations on the claims. The public won’t know the size of any proposed operations until Mr. Proctor files paperwork with the Bureau of Land Management indicating whether it’s notice-level mining (5 acres and under, mostly not subject to federal environmental laws such as NEPA, NHPA, etc.) or plan-level mining (generally 5 acres or more, is subject to federal environmental laws).
“These 41 new claims – in addition to the 72 claims located in Bears Ears National Monument – illustrate that illegally shrinking the monuments was done to further the Trump administration’s extraction-focused agenda,” said Hanna Larsen, Staff Attorney at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “These 113 mining claims put some of southern Utah’s most remarkable places at risk of being irreparably damaged and reinforce the need for vigilance while we work to permanently restore both Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments.”
“These new mining claims threaten what makes the Monument a scientific hotspot. At risk is North America’s second largest petrified forest, a magnificent and nearly unmatched 225-million-year-old site dating back to the late Triassic period,” said Dr. Jackie Grant, Executive Director of Grand Staircase Escalante Partners. “Also at risk is a Federally listed plant species, Jones cycladenia. Only five populations of this rare plant are known to exist; in 2021, energy and mineral development were identified as major threats to its continued existence. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is worthy of protection and should not be threatened by short-sighted mining efforts.”
“The growing number of mining claims at Grand Staircase-Escalante is a warning of what could happen when protections are stripped away, and Tribal Nations and local communities are shut out of decisions about these lands. Irreplaceable cultural resources, wildlife habitat and our freedom to experience one of America’s most extraordinary public landscapes are all at risk,” said Charlie Luke, Utah State Director at The Wilderness Society. “Grand Staircase deserves lasting protections that preserve these irreplaceable values for future generations.”
“Gut a national monument, and this is the predictable result, a rush of mining claims across lands Americans have repeatedly said they want protected,” said Bobby McEnaney, Senior Lands Analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “Grand Staircase-Escalante is a globally significant landscape, but mining companies and speculators are exploiting a law written in 1872 to stake claims on public lands that contain irreplaceable cultural resources, wildlife habitat, and scientific treasures. Americans should not have to watch iconic public lands be carved up because the administration has decided to disregard the importance of our national monuments.”
“Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument’s paleontology and geology hold the stories of our planet’s past and the monument remains a living cultural landscape of vital importance to many tribes,” said Chaitna Sinha, Staff Attorney and Conservation Codirector for the Grand Canyon Trust. “According to a recent poll, Utah voters strongly prioritize conservation over mining. These mining claims are short-sighted and out of step with what Utah voters want.”
“The claims that continue to come out of the woodwork make no secret of the Trump administration’s true motives for shrinking Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments,” said Director of the Sierra Club in Utah, Franque Bains. “Exploiting the culturally significant, revered, and treasured lands so many are connected to for a quick buck is the definition of greed. Utahns want these lands protected, not offered up on a platter for industrial development.”
“It’s heartbreaking to watch this extraordinary place chipped away by mining claims, when Tribal Nations have maintained deep connections to these lands since time immemorial,” said Davina Smith Idjesa, Four Corners Tribal Program Manager at the National Parks Conservation Association. “This confirms what we knew about the proclamation to dismantle the monument. This was always about slashing protections, including clearing the way for unchecked energy development and dismantling co-stewardship structures that give Tribal Nations a leading role in managing their ancestral lands. Grand Staircase-Escalante is deeply intertwined with the National Park System, linking Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef National Parks and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Now, we’re seeing the result when the door is left wide open to reckless drilling and mining.”
Background Information on other Mining claims:
Under President Trump’s proclamations decimating Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante by over 90%, mining claims could not be staked until 60 days after the date of the proclamation: Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. Despite this, on July 14, 2026, Kimmerle Mining filed 7 mining claims (see map) with the San Juan County (Utah) Recorder’s Office. Kimmerle Mining previously filed mining claims after Trump’s 2017 reduction of Bears Ears and excavated a partially reclaimed mine shaft on one of the claims – the so-called Easy Peasy claim (this mine has been re-buried); Kyle Kimmerle (a Managing Member of Kimmerle Mining) was also a plaintiff in one of the cases filed in the District of Utah challenging President Biden’s 2021 restoration of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.
Two mining claims were also filed in Grand Staircase-Escalante, less than one month after Trump’s attack. On August 6, 2026, Craig Rosequist filed two mining claims (see map) with the Kane County (Utah) Recorder’s Office in areas cut out of the monument by the Trump proclamations. According to public records, Rosequist previously located several mining claims in neighboring Washington County, Utah. The Bureau of Land Management should reject claims filed in both national monuments prior to Sept. 11.
From 2018-2021 (during the previous, illegal reduction), there were a total of 20 mining claims filed in the lands cut from Bears Ears National Monument. So far, more than triple that number – 72 claims – have been filed.
Background information about the national monument reductions:
- Statements from Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal coalitions
- SUWA Statement on Trump’s Illegal Reductions of Grand Staircase-Escalante & Bears Ears National Monuments
- Full Statement and Quotes Tracking
- Maps of the reductions
- Reporter Background Memo on National Monuments
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The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters from around the country dedicated to protecting America’s redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, our team of professionals defends the redrock, organizes support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, and stewards a world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org.
