Back to the Utah State Aggies Newsfeed

After grumbling about Grand Staircase monument, House committee looks at creating a new, smaller national park

Related Topics: National park

Washington • A congressional hearing Thursday on a proposal to create a new national park out of the remnants of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument focused on the long-simmering angst with President Bill Clinton’s designation 21 years before.

Republicans on a House Natural Resources subcommittee said they planned to take the opportunity to make it right after President Donald Trump dismantled the 1.9 million- acre monument and replaced it with three smaller footprints.

Former Gov. Mike Leavitt, who served as Utah’s chief executive when Clinton created the monument, said Thursday that “this time, we can do better.