COMMENTARY:
Well, that didn’t take long.
In late 2025, I wrote a column headlined, “Pearce is not a fit steward for our public lands.”
I warned that if former U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, who owned an oilfield services company in Hobbs that he sold for $12 million before serving in Congress, was confirmed to the position by the Senate, he would immediately begin selling off some of the most breathtakingly beautiful lands in the country.
Pearce was confirmed on May 18. Less than two months later, the president signed an executive order reducing the size of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Bears Ears National Monument in Utah by more than 90 percent. What had been more than 3 million acres of public lands will be reduced to about 300,000 acres.
“Rightsizing these national monuments allows for the restoration of … grazing, timber harvest, fishing, hunting, resource development, infrastructure upgrades and motorized recreation,” the White House argues in a “fact sheet.”
A spokesman for the Interior Department told The Salt Lake City Tribune that former President Barack Obama had “weaponized the Antiquities Act,” in declaring the monuments.
The two monuments sit on historically tribal lands. Ever since their designation, management of the monuments has served as a model for cooperation between Native tribes and the federal government. The Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Zuni Tribe and Ute Indian Tribe all participated in the Bears Ears Commission, which guided management of the monument.
Under the new system, the tribes will be one of several groups allowed to have advisory members on the commission.
How long will it be before Pearce turns his attention to the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, which he vigorously opposed when he represented us in Congress? The arguments laid out in the government “fact sheet” justifying the changes in Utah could just as easily be made in regard to the OMDP. It was also created under the Antiquities Act and it also includes lands that likely don’t fit the specific requirements of “historic or scientific interest.”
The OMDP survived a review by the Trump administration during his first term. Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who flew to New Mexico to review the monument for proposed cuts, has a sincere appreciation for nature. Pearce has a sincere appreciation for how much money can be squeezed from the land.
The other difference is that this time the Trump administration is operating under the dictates of the “Unleashing American Energy” executive order. Along with ending federal climate change and air pollution initiatives, it encourages increased energy production and mineral exploration on all federal lands.
Tribal members in Utah joined with environmentalists and outdoors lovers to fiercely protest the reduction of their two monuments. And, I have no doubt that the same would happen here if a similar reduction was made law through an executive order. I’m just not sure that it would matter.
Monuments passed under the Antiquities Act don’t have the same level of protection as those designated by acts of Congress. The Obama administration went through a rigorous review process before making the designations. But, as we’ve seen from the current administration, they really didn’t need to. They were following norms, not laws.
My advice for those who love the OMDP is to take advantage now while we still can. These guys are moving fast.
Walter Rubel can be reached at waltrubel@gmail.com
Walt Rubel’s opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of KRWG Public Media or NMSU.