Modifying the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, 58089-58096 [2017-26714]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 235 (Friday, December 8, 2017)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 58089-58096]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-26714]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 82 , No. 235 / Friday, December 8, 2017 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 58089]]


                Proclamation 9682 of December 4, 2017

                
Modifying the Grand Staircase-Escalante National 
                Monument

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                In Proclamation 6920 of September 18, 1996, and 
                exercising his authority under the Act of June 8, 1906 
                (34 Stat. 225) (the ``Antiquities Act''), President 
                William J. Clinton established the Grand Staircase-
                Escalante National Monument in the State of Utah, 
                reserving approximately 1.7 million acres of Federal 
                lands for the care and management of objects of 
                historic and scientific interest identified therein. 
                The monument is managed by the Department of the 
                Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM). This 
                proclamation makes certain modifications to the 
                monument.

                Proclamation 6920 identifies a long list of objects of 
                historic or scientific interest within the boundaries 
                of the monument. In the 20 years since the designation, 
                the BLM and academic researchers have studied the 
                monument to better understand the geology, 
                paleontology, archeology, history, and biology of the 
                area.

                The Antiquities Act requires that any reservation of 
                land as part of a monument be confined to the smallest 
                area compatible with the proper care and management of 
                the objects of historic or scientific interest to be 
                protected. Determining the appropriate protective area 
                involves examination of a number of factors, including 
                the uniqueness and nature of the objects, the nature of 
                the needed protection, and the protection provided by 
                other laws.

                Proclamation 6920 identifies the monument area as rich 
                with paleontological sites and fossils, including 
                marine and brackish water mollusks, turtles, 
                crocodilians, lizards, dinosaurs, fishes, and mammals, 
                as well as terrestrial vertebrate fauna, including 
                mammals, of the Cenomanian-Santonian ages, and one of 
                the most continuous records of Late Cretaceous 
                terrestrial life in the world. Nearly 2 decades of 
                intense study of the monument has provided a better 
                understanding of the areas with the highest 
                concentrations of fossil resources and the best 
                opportunities to discover previously unknown species. 
                While formations like the Wahweap and Kaiparowits occur 
                only in southern Utah and provide an important record 
                of Late Cretaceous fossils, others like the Chinle and 
                Morrison formations occur throughout the Colorado 
                Plateau. The modified monument boundaries take into 
                account this new information and, as described in more 
                detail below, retain the majority of the high-potential 
                areas for locating new fossil resources that have been 
                identified within the area reserved by Proclamation 
                6920.

                Proclamation 6920 also identifies a number of unique 
                geological formations and landscape features within the 
                monument boundaries. These include the Grand Staircase, 
                White Cliffs, Vermilion Cliffs, Kaiparowits Plateau, 
                Upper Paria Canyon System, Upper Escalante Canyons, 
                Burning Hills, Circle Cliffs, East Kaibab Monocline, 
                Grosvenor Arch, and Escalante Natural Bridge, all of 
                which are retained in whole or part within the revised 
                monument boundaries. The Waterpocket Fold, however, is 
                located mostly within the Capitol Reef National Park 
                and the portions within the monument are not unique or 
                particularly scientifically significant. Therefore, the 
                boundaries of the monument may be modified to exclude 
                the Waterpocket Fold without imperiling the proper care 
                and management of that formation. The more general 
                landscape features discussed in the proclamation, such 
                as serpentine

[[Page 58090]]

                canyons, arches, and natural bridges, are common across 
                the Colorado Plateau both within and outside of the 
                modified boundaries of the monument described below.

                Archeological and historic objects identified within 
                the monument are more generally discussed in 
                Proclamation 6920, which specifically identifies only 
                the Hole-in-the-Rock Trail, the Paria Townsite, and 
                Dance Hall Rock as objects of historic or scientific 
                interest, all 3 of which will remain within the revised 
                monument boundaries, although a portion of the Hole-in-
                the-Rock Trail will be excluded. Proclamation 6920 also 
                describes Fremont and Ancestral Puebloan rock art 
                panels, occupation sites, campsites, and granaries, as 
                well as historic objects such as those left behind by 
                Mormon pioneers, including trails, inscriptions, ghost 
                towns, rock houses, and cowboy line camps. These are 
                artifacts that are known to generally occur across the 
                Four Corners region, particularly in southern Utah, and 
                the examples found within the monument are not, as 
                described, of any unique or distinctive scientific or 
                historic significance. In light of the prevalence of 
                similar objects throughout the region, the existing 
                boundaries of the monument are not ``the smallest area 
                compatible with the proper care'' of these objects, and 
                they may be excluded from the monument's boundaries. 
                Further, many of these objects or examples of these 
                objects are retained within the modified boundaries 
                described below.

                Finally, with respect to the animal and plant species, 
                Proclamation 6920 characterizes the area as one of the 
                richest floristic regions in the Intermountain West, 
                but it identifies only a few specific species as 
                objects of scientific or historic interest. The revised 
                boundaries contain the majority of habitat types 
                originally protected by Proclamation 6920.

                Thus, many of the objects identified by Proclamation 
                6920 are not unique to the monument, and some of the 
                particular examples of those objects within the 
                monument are not of significant historic or scientific 
                interest. Moreover, many of the objects identified by 
                Proclamation 6920 are not under threat of damage or 
                destruction such that they require a reservation of 
                land to protect them; in fact, many are already subject 
                to Federal protection under existing law and agency 
                management designations. The BLM manages nearly 900,000 
                acres of lands within the existing monument as 
                Wilderness Study Areas, which the BLM is already 
                required by law to manage so as not to impair the 
                suitability of such areas for future congressional 
                designation as Wilderness.

                A host of laws enacted after the Antiquities Act 
                provide specific protection for archaeological, 
                historic, cultural, paleontological, and plant and 
                animal resources and give authority to the BLM to 
                condition permitted activities on Federal lands, 
                whether within or outside a monument. These laws 
                include the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 
                1979, 16 U.S.C. 470aa-470mm, National Historic 
                Preservation Act, 54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq., Bald and 
                Golden Eagle Protection Act, 16 U.S.C. 668-668d, 
                Endangered Species Act of 1973, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq., 
                Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988, 16 
                U.S.C. 4301 et seq., Federal Land Policy and Management 
                Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq., Migratory Bird 
                Treaty Act, 16 U.S.C. 703-712, Native American Graves 
                Protection and Repatriation Act of 1976, 25 U.S.C. 3001 
                et seq., and Paleontological Resources Preservation 
                Act, 16 U.S.C. 470aaa-470aaa-11. Of particular note, 
                the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act, enacted 
                in 2009, imposes criminal penalties for unauthorized 
                excavation, removal, damage, alteration, or defacement 
                of paleontological resources. Federal land management 
                agencies can grant permits authorizing excavation or 
                removal, but only when undertaken for the purpose of 
                furthering paleontological knowledge. The 
                Archaeological Resources Protection Act contains very 
                similar provisions protecting archeological resources. 
                And the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Endangered 
                Species Act protect migratory birds and listed 
                endangered and threatened species and their habitats.

[[Page 58091]]

                Especially in light of the research conducted since 
                designation, I find that the current boundaries of the 
                Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument established 
                by Proclamation 6920 are greater than the smallest area 
                compatible with the protection of the objects for which 
                lands were reserved and, therefore, that the boundaries 
                of the monument should be reduced to 3 areas: Grand 
                Staircase, Kaiparowits, and Escalante Canyons. These 
                revisions will ensure that the monument is no larger 
                than necessary for the proper care and management of 
                the objects.

                The Grand Staircase area is named for one of the iconic 
                landscapes in the American West. An unbroken sequence 
                of cliffs and plateaus, considered to be the most 
                colorful exposed geologic section in the world, has 
                inspired wonder in visitors since the days of early 
                western explorers.

                The White Cliffs that rise more than 1,500 feet from 
                the desert floor are the hardened remains of the 
                largest sand sea that ever existed. The deep red 
                Vermilion Cliffs, once the eastern shore of the ancient 
                Lake Dixie, contain a rich fossil record from the Late 
                Triassic period to the early Jurassic period, including 
                petrified wood, fish, dinosaur, and other reptilian 
                bones. Fossil footprints are also common, including 
                those at the Flag Point tracksite, which includes 
                dinosaur fossil tracks adjacent to a Native American 
                rock art panel depicting dinosaur tracks. This area 
                also contains a number of relict vegetative communities 
                occurring on isolated mesa tops, an example of which, 
                No Mans Mesa, was identified in Proclamation 6920.

                The archaeology of the Grand Staircase area is 
                dominated by sites constructed by the Virgin Branch of 
                the Ancestral Puebloans--ancient horticulturalists and 
                farmers who subsisted largely on corn, beans, and 
                squash, and occupied the area from nearly 2000 B.C.E. 
                to about 1250 C.E. The landscape was also the home of 
                some of the earliest corn-related agriculture in the 
                Southwest, and it continues to hold remnants of these 
                early farmsteads and small pueblos. The evidence of 
                this history, including remnants of the beginning of 
                agriculture, development of prehistoric farming 
                systems, and the final abandonment of the area, is 
                concentrated in the lower levels of the Grand 
                Staircase. The higher cliffs, benches, and plateaus 
                hold evidence of occupation by Archaic and Late 
                Prehistoric people, including Clovis and other 
                projectile points and residential pit structures that 
                indicate occupation by hunter-gatherers starting about 
                13,000 years ago.

                Following the abandonment of the area by Ancestral 
                Puebloans, the area was re-occupied by a new population 
                of hunter-gatherers, the people known today as the 
                Southern Paiute Indians. The Southern Paiute Indians 
                identify this area as part of their ancestral homeland. 
                Still later Mormon pioneers settled the area, as 
                evidenced by remnants of roads, trails, line shacks, 
                rock houses, and abandoned town sites.

                The Kaiparowits area is dominated by a dissected mesa 
                that rises thousands of feet above the surrounding 
                terrain. These vast, rugged badlands are characterized 
                by towering cliffs and escarpments that expose tiers of 
                fossil-rich formations.

                In addition to striking scenery, the area is world-
                renowned for rich fossil resources, including 16 
                species that have been found nowhere else. The plateau 
                is considered one of the best, most continuous records 
                of Late Cretaceous life in the world. It includes 
                fossils of mollusks, reptiles, dinosaurs, fishes, and 
                mammals, as well as the only evidence in our hemisphere 
                of terrestrial vertebrate fauna from the Cenomanian 
                through Santonian ages. Since 2000, nearly 4,000 new 
                fossil sites have been documented on the plateau. The 
                Dakota, Tropic Shale, Wahweap, and Kaiparowits 
                formations in the area have been found to contain 
                numerous important fossils, including those of early 
                mammals and reptiles (Dakota); marine reptiles, 
                including 5 species of plesiosaur and North America's 
                oldest mosasaur (Tropic Shale); and multiple new 
                species of dinosaurs (Wahweap and Kaiparowits), 
                including the Diabloceratops eatoni, a relative of the 
                Triceratops named for its devil-like horns, and the 
                Lythronax argestes, whose name means ``Gore King of the 
                Southwest.''

[[Page 58092]]

                The Kaiparowits area also includes objects of geologic 
                interest, which Proclamation 6920 identified. The 
                rugged canyons and natural arches of the Upper Paria 
                River expose the colorful and varied Carmel and Entrada 
                formations that draw visitors to the area. One of the 
                most famous arches, Grosvenor Arch, is a rare double 
                arch that towers more than 150 feet above the desert 
                floor. The area also contains ``hydrothermal-collapse'' 
                pipes and dikes that have revealed to researchers a 
                fascinating story of a geologic catastrophe triggered 
                by either a massive earthquake or an asteroid impact.

                The western side of the Kaiparowits area includes the 
                majority of the East Kaibab Monocline, which features 
                an erosional ``hogback'' known as the ``Cockscomb,'' as 
                well as broad exposures of multicolored rocks and 
                intricate canyons. It is considered one of the true 
                scenic and geologic wonders of the area. On the east 
                side of the plateau, the scorched earth of the Burning 
                Hills is a geologic curiosity: a vast underground coal 
                seam that some researchers believe has been burning for 
                eons, sending acrid smoke up through vents in the 
                ground and turning the hillsides brick red. Finally, 
                along the eastern edge of the Kaiparowits Plateau is a 
                series of oddly shaped arches and other rock formations 
                known as the Devil's Garden.

                The Kaiparowits area also contains a unique record of 
                human history. The overall archaeology of the 
                Kaiparowits Plateau is dominated by Archaic and Late 
                Prehistoric era sites. There are, however, a few 
                important sites that tell the story of occupation first 
                by the Fremont, who came from an area to the east, and 
                later by Virgin and Kayenta Ancestral Puebloans. These 
                sites show new types of architecture and pottery that 
                mixed traditional Fremont and Ancestral Puebloan 
                styles. Prehistoric cliff structures in parts of the 
                Kaiparowits Plateau are well preserved and provide 
                researchers and visitors an opportunity to better 
                understand the apparently peaceful mixture of 3 
                cultures starting in the early 1100s. In particular, 
                the Fifty-Mile Mountain area contains hundreds of 
                cultural resource sites, including Ancestral Puebloan 
                habitations, granaries, and masonry structures.

                Historical use of the Kaiparowits area plays a very 
                important part in the rich ranching history of southern 
                Utah, which is evidenced by a complex pattern of roads, 
                stock trails, line shacks, attempted farmsteads, and 
                small mining operations. Fifty-Mile Mountain, in 
                particular, contains a number of historic cabins, as 
                well as other evidence of pioneer living, including 
                ruins, rip-gut fences, and historic trails. It is 
                believed that Zane Grey used the Fifty-Mile Mountain 
                area as a landscape reference point when he wrote 
                ``Wild Horse Mesa.'' There are also a number of 
                historic signature panels across the plateau that 
                document continued grazing and ranching use of the 
                landscape by multiple generations of the same families.

                To the east of Fifty-Mile Mountain in the Escalante 
                Desert, Dance Hall Rock stands out as an important 
                landmark of Mormon pioneers. While the Hole-in-the-Rock 
                Trail was under construction in 1879, Mormon pioneers 
                camped in this area and held meetings and dances here. 
                Similarly, as described above, the old Paria Townsite 
                is an important ghost town within the Kaiparowits area, 
                as it served as the only town and post office site 
                within the area at the turn of the 20th century.

                The Escalante Canyons area likewise contains objects of 
                significance. The canyonlands of the area provide a 
                fantastic display of geologic activities and erosional 
                forces that, over millions of years, created a network 
                of deep, narrow canyons, high plateaus, sheer cliffs, 
                and beautiful sandstone arches and natural bridges, 
                including the 130-foot-tall Escalante Natural Bridge. 
                Additionally, this area boasts Calf Creek Canyon, a 
                canyon of red alcoved walls with expanses of white 
                slickrock that is named for its use as a natural cattle 
                pen at the end of the 19th century.

                To the east of the Canyonlands, Circle Cliffs is a 
                breached anticline with spectacular painted-desert 
                scenery, the result of exposed sedimentary rocks of the 
                Triassic Chinle and Moenkopi formations. The Circle 
                Cliffs area also contains large, unbroken petrified 
                logs up to 30 feet in length. A

[[Page 58093]]

                nearly complete articulated skeleton of Poposauras--a 
                rare bipedal crocodilian fossil--was also found here.

                The Escalante Canyons area also contains a high density 
                of Fremont prehistoric sites, including pithouses, 
                villages, storage cysts, and rock art. The canyon of 
                the Escalante River and its tributary canyons contain 
                one of the highest densities of rock art sites in 
                southwestern Utah outside of Capitol Reef National 
                Park, with sites dating from the Archaic to the 
                Historic periods. The Hundred Hands rock art panel is 
                located in the river canyon, and is spiritually 
                significant to all tribes that claim ancestry in the 
                area.

                There are also significant historic sites in this area 
                related to grazing and ranching, along with the Boulder 
                Mail Trail, which was used to ferry mail between the 
                small desert outpost towns of Escalante and Boulder 
                beginning in 1902. Today, much of the trail is still 
                visible, and it has become popular with backpackers.

                The areas described above are the smallest compatible 
                with the proper care and management of the objects to 
                be protected. The Grand Staircase-Escalante National 
                Monument, as modified by this proclamation, will 
                maintain and protect those objects and preserve the 
                area's cultural, scientific, and historic legacy.

                WHEREAS, Proclamation 6920 of September 18, 1996, 
                established the Grand Staircase-Escalante National 
                Monument in the State of Utah and reserved 
                approximately 1.7 million acres of Federal lands for 
                the care and management of the objects of historic and 
                scientific interest identified therein; and

                WHEREAS, many of the objects identified by Proclamation 
                6920 are otherwise protected by Federal law; and

                WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to modify the 
                boundary of the monument to exclude from its 
                designation and reservation approximately 861,974 acres 
                of land that I find are no longer necessary for the 
                proper care and management of the objects to be 
                protected within the monument; and

                WHEREAS, the boundaries of the monument reservation 
                should therefore be reduced to the smallest area 
                compatible with the protection of the objects of 
                scientific or historic interest, as described above in 
                this proclamation;

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the 
                United States of America, by the authority vested in me 
                by section 320301 of title 54, United States Code, 
                hereby proclaim that the boundary of the Grand 
                Staircase-Escalante National Monument is hereby 
                modified and reduced to those lands and interests in 
                lands owned or controlled by the Federal Government 
                within the boundaries described on the accompanying 
                map, which is attached to and forms a part of this 
                proclamation. I hereby further proclaim that the 
                modified monument areas identified on the accompanying 
                map shall be known as the Grand Staircase, Kaiparowits, 
                and Escalante Canyons units of the monument. These 
                reserved Federal lands and interests in lands 
                cumulatively encompass approximately 1,003,863 acres. 
                The boundaries described on the accompanying map are 
                confined to the smallest area compatible with the 
                proper care and management of the objects to be 
                protected.

                Any lands reserved by Proclamation 6920 not within the 
                boundaries identified on the accompanying map are 
                hereby excluded from the monument.

                At 9:00 a.m., eastern standard time, on the date that 
                is 60 days after the date of this proclamation, subject 
                to valid existing rights, the provisions of existing 
                withdrawals, and the requirements of applicable law, 
                the public lands excluded from the monument reservation 
                shall be open to:

                    (1) entry, location, selection, sale or other 
                disposition under the public land laws;
                    (2) disposition under all laws relating to mineral 
                and geothermal leasing; and
                    (3) location, entry, and patent under the mining 
                laws.

[[Page 58094]]

                Appropriation of lands under the mining laws before the 
                date and time of restoration is unauthorized. Any such 
                attempted appropriation, including attempted adverse 
                possession under 30 U.S.C. 38, shall vest no rights 
                against the United States. Acts required to establish a 
                location and to initiate a right of possession are 
                governed by State law where not in conflict with 
                Federal law.

                Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to 
                revoke, modify, or affect any withdrawal, reservation, 
                or appropriation, other than the one created by 
                Proclamation 6920.

                Nothing in this proclamation shall change the 
                management of the areas designated and reserved by 
                Proclamation 6920 that remain part of the monument in 
                accordance with the terms of this proclamation, except 
                as provided by the following 5 paragraphs:

                Paragraph 14 of Proclamation 6920 is updated and 
                clarified to require that the Secretary of the Interior 
                (Secretary) prepare and maintain a management plan for 
                each of the 3 units of the monument with maximum public 
                involvement including, but not limited to, consultation 
                with federally recognized tribes and State and local 
                governments. The Secretary, through the BLM, shall also 
                consult with other Federal land management agencies in 
                the local area in developing the management plans.

                Proclamation 6920 is amended to provide that the 
                Secretary shall maintain one or more advisory 
                committees under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 
                U.S.C. App.) to provide information and advice 
                regarding the development of the above-described 
                management plans, and, as appropriate, management of 
                the monument. Any advisory committee maintained shall 
                consist of a fair and balanced representation of 
                interested stakeholders, including State and local 
                governments, tribes, recreational users, local business 
                owners, and private landowners.

                Proclamation 6920 is clarified to provide that, 
                consistent with protection of the objects identified 
                above and other applicable law, the Secretary may allow 
                motorized and non[dash]mechanized vehicle use on roads 
                and trails existing immediately before the issuance of 
                Proclamation 6920 and maintain roads and trails for 
                such use.

                Paragraph 12 of Proclamation 6920 governing livestock 
                grazing in the monument is hereby modified to read as 
                follows: ``Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed 
                to affect authorizations for livestock grazing, or 
                administration thereof, on Federal lands within the 
                monument. Livestock grazing within the monument shall 
                continue to be governed by laws and regulations other 
                than this proclamation.''

                Proclamation 6920 is amended to clarify that, 
                consistent with the care and management of the objects 
                identified above, the Secretary may authorize 
                ecological restoration and active vegetation management 
                activities in the monument.

                If any provision of this proclamation, including its 
                application to a particular parcel of land, is held to 
                be invalid, the remainder of this proclamation and its 
                application to other parcels of land shall not be 
                affected thereby.

[[Page 58095]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                fourth day of December, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand seventeen, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                second.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

Billing code 3295-F8-P



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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TD08DE17.004


[FR Doc. 2017-26714
Filed 12-7-17; 11:15 am]
Billing code 4310-10-C