Around the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and Capital Reef National Park, public lands are now being leased for coal mining. The lands affected are controlled by the Bureau of Land Management, which was considered off-limits until the One Big Beautiful Bill passed in July of 2025 allowing for coal leasing.
The Trump administration plans to increase energy production in the country, especially when it comes to fossil fuels. Around 48,000 acres of federal land are up for lease for coal mining operations.
“President Trump promised to put American energy workers first, and today we’re delivering,” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in the BLM press release. “By reducing the royalty rate for coal, increasing coal acres available for leasing, and unlocking critical minerals from mine waste, we are strengthening our economy, protecting national security, and ensuring that communities from Montana to Alabama benefit from good-paying jobs.”
About 12,000 acres of land are set aside south of Bryce Canyon National Park and west of the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument for coal mining projects. However, it could affect tributaries that flow into the Paria River. Just east of Capital Reef National Park a total of 2,000 acres are up for lease. Zion National Park is just west of the land up for lease, though it is unclear what the acreage is.
“These are world‑class public lands and should be treasured, not trashed,” said Director of Land Conservation at NRDC Bobby McEnaney. “Allowing dirty, polluting coal mining at the doorstep of Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef and Grand Staircase–Escalante will destroy exactly what makes these places singular—clean air, dark skies, thriving wildlife, and the economies they sustain. The spaces should be withdrawn.”
Lease sales have already begun, and the Trump administration also lowered the royalty tax on the mining companies to 7%, allowing them to compete in international markets. The administration has begun to push forward the recovery of valuable minerals from mine waste and the clean-up of abandoned mines.
Author: Lainey Porter
Photo courtesy of Bureau of Land Management, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
Editor: Hannah Clove
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