When President Trump signed a proclamation in December to reduce the size of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah, he spurred a heated discussion on the goals and objectives of federal land management. What once was an issue of interest only to Western states has now hit the national scene. But, all this controversy can be averted by simply returning to the original intent of the Antiquities Act concerning national monuments.

After a review process, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke recently recommended changes to 10 national monuments, including reductions in size of six and changes to the management of four others. President Trump took initial action on Secretary Zinke’s recommendations by reducing the size of Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument, from 1.35 million to 201,876 acres — an 85 percent reduction — and the Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument from 1.7 million to 1 million acres — a 46 percent decrease.