Near the Paria River, the eerie Toadstool Hoodoos, favorites among landscape photographers, have lost the protections of the now-dismantled Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. But they are on a federal Wilderness Study Area, which shields the site from development.
To the east, the moon-like Sooner Rocks camping area also has lost its monument status, and it has no wilderness designation. If a bill now before Congress succeeds, the nearby Hole In The Rock Road could be transformed from a low-speed dirt lane to a paved highway.
Far to the north, at Capitol Reef National Park, the picturesque Upper Muley Twist Canyon trail was never part of the monument — but it is barely a mile from land where advocates worry that expired drilling leases could be revived now that the monument has receded.