Kanab • The management of the downsized Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and will be the subject of two public meetings next month.
The Bureau of Land Management said Thursday the open-house meetings will be held Oct. 15 and 16 in two cities near the southern Utah monument: Escalante and Kanab.
The agency issued four options for draft management proposals in August, saying its preference is for the one “least restrictive to energy and mining development.”
The plan has been criticized by environmental groups.
President Donald Trump’s administration decided to downsize Grand Staircase by nearly half and the Bears Ears National Monument by about 85 percent last year.
The move was celebrated by largely Republican leaders in Utah, but it angered conservation and tribal groups and triggered lawsuits.