Haaland to travel to Utah to visit monuments shrunk under Trump

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will visit two national monuments in Utah that shrunk under the former Trump administration in April.

Her visit comes before the expected release of an Interior report on the national monuments.

In an executive order signed on his first day in office, President Biden called for a review of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments. Former President Obama designated the boundaries for the Bears Ears monument in 2016, while former President Clinton set the boundaries for the Grand Staircase-Escalante monument.

During the Trump administration, former President Trump reduced the size of the monuments by some 2 million acres.

Biden’s executive order called for the submission of the secretary’s report within 60 days, or March 21. However, the Interior Department announced Wednesday that the secretary would release her report in April after her visit.

During her visit to Utah, Haaland, the nation’s first Native American Cabinet secretary, is set to meet with local governmental and tribal leaders, according to Interior.

“Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland is looking forward to visiting Utah in April to meet with stakeholders, Tribes, and elected leaders. The Interior Department’s report to the President on national monuments, as called for in Executive Order 14008, will reflect those conversations and will be transmitted to the White House following the trip,” the department said in a statement.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) reacted positively to the delay of Interior’s review on Wednesday, stating, “We must have a permanent legislative solution—with input from Utah’s stakeholders—that resolves these boundaries.”

The Utah senator had said earlier in March that the Biden administration “must … extend the 60-day review period timeline in order to allow the @Interior Secretary time to travel to Utah and tour these monuments.”

Encouraged that the review deadline for Bears Ears & Grand Staircase-Escalante has been extended so that @SecDebHaaland can visit before any decisions are made. We must have a permanent legislative solution—with input from Utah’s stakeholders—that resolves these boundaries. https://t.co/BAJU72nu3f

— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) March 17, 2021

The Hill has reached out to the Interior Department regarding the reason for the delay. Haaland was confirmed by the Senate 51-40 Monday, one of the last Cabinet nominees confirmed.