Sixteen new mining claims were filed on land cut from Bears Ears National Monument, now open to mineral development after Trump's July proclamation reduced the monument by 91%.
Three of the claims, filed by George W. Schultz, sit in Lockhart Basin, a roughly 50-mile BLM route popular for overlanding that runs along Canyonlands National Park's eastern boundary. The other 13 were filed by Kimmerle Mining in and around the site of an old claim called Easy Peasy, first staked after Trump's 2017 reduction of Bears Ears and reburied once Biden restored the monument in 2021.
SUWA and several other conservation groups, including the Wilderness Society and the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a joint statement that the speed of the filings shows the reduction was designed to open the area to extraction rather than expand public access, as the administration has said.
"Three of the claims are located in the Lockhart Basin, a spectacular landscape that contains numerous cultural and archaeological sites and sits next to Canyonlands National Park's eastern boundary," said Sara Cawley, energy director at the National Parks Conservation Association, in the groups' joint statement. "National park units and their surrounding landscapes are no place for energy development, but outdated laws elevate mining above all other uses on these lands."
The July 13 proclamations, which Ordealist covered at the time, cut Bears Ears from about 1.36 million acres to about 121,100 and Grand Staircase-Escalante from about 1.87 million acres to about 181,500. New mining claims became legal 60 days later, at 9 a.m. Eastern time on September 11. All 16 were filed that same day.
Kimmerle Mining tried this once before: on July 14, 2026, it attempted to file seven claims in the same area, more than a month before the restriction was due to lift. Trump's proclamation states that any such early filing is "unauthorized" and "shall vest no rights against the United States."
BLM has not issued a statement addressing these specific claims. Its general guidance on the newly available land says it will manage it under the agency's existing 2025 management plan while drafting a new one, and will hold formal consultations with the five Tribal nations that made up the former Bears Ears Commission.
Conservation groups, including Patagonia and SUWA, asked a federal court on September 2 to reopen a 2017 lawsuit challenging the reduction itself, saying the Antiquities Act lets a president create a monument but not shrink one a predecessor established.
How we reported this
This article draws on published sources; no direct comment was sought from Kimmerle Mining, George W. Schultz, or BLM's press office on these specific claims. Sources, accessed September 2026:
- The White House, proclamation modifying Bears Ears National Monument and fact sheet, the primary text and figures for the July 13, 2026 boundary reduction.
- The Salt Lake Tribune and Moab Times, reporting that 16 mining claims were filed the day the restriction lifted.
- KUER, reporting on Kimmerle Mining's earlier, premature July 14 filing attempt.
- KSJD, reporting the Bureau of Land Management's statement on managing the newly available land.
- Deseret News, reporting on the September 2 court filing to reopen the 2017 lawsuit.
- Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, press release that first surfaced the September 11 filings, including quotes from conservation groups.