On Wednesday, President Donald Trump took an official step toward re-considering the protection of 40 national monuments, including Bears Ears National Monument. Barack Obama brought the monument under federal protection in the final days of his presidency, in a move Trump called, “an egregious abuse of power.” The new administration is now reviewing whether they believe power was overstepped in creating national monuments not only during Obama’s terms, but over the last 21 years. Utah depends on its $8 billion tourism industry, and has already lost more than $45 million in tourism dollars from the Outdoor Industry Trade Association pulling its bi-annual trade show due to Utah lawmakers’ stance against Bears Ears.

For an in-depth analysis read the National Geographic article by Laura Parker here.