October 21, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry held a markup on a controversial forestry bill. The bill was reported out of committee with a vote of 18-5.
National Monuments
National Monuments
Protecting existing monuments, expanding these cherished spaces, and fighting for new monuments is an important piece of Sierra Club's conservation work.
Allen Canyon area Hand print Bears Ears National Monument
What is a national monument?
National monuments are lands and waters designated for permanent protection by the federal government. They are widely popular across parties. They include areas of important natural, cultural, and historic resources, from geological wonders to sacred Indigenous landscapes to sites that have shaped our history.
Unlike national parks, which only Congress can designate, national monuments can be established by the President. We must fight to keep these places protected! Trump is attempting to dismantle monuments like Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante. We're fighting to safeguard these places in court!.
The United States has over 130 national monuments that are managed by federal agencies. While most are managed by the National Park Service, some are managed by other agencies like the US Forest Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management.
Canyon of the Ancients National Monument
Why are monuments important?
National monuments are protected lands, waters, or historic sites that safeguard our natural, cultural, scientific, and historic resources and legacies. They are an important tool for protecting public lands and waters for generations to come.
National monuments are also part of our response to the climate crisis. Conserving 30 percent of US lands and waters by 2030 will protect the air we breathe, water we drink, and provide a powerful climate solution. Preserving wildlands will protect vital habitats for imperiled species and save more places to connect with nature. Safeguarding places of cultural and historical significance will help honor the stories, sites, and landscapes that make us who we are.
33
states with national monuments
18
presidents have designated monuments
National monuments protect geologic, marine, archaeological, and cultural sites
Protecting wild places will keep drilling and logging from polluting our air and water, and suck existing climate pollution out of the air. Creating national monuments is one of the best ways to protect public lands and preserve homes for wildlife and opportunities for people to enjoy the outdoors together.
What We Are Doing
Paria Rimrocks, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah
The Sierra Club has been pivotal in the conservation and expansion of national monuments for more than a century, reflecting a broader commitment to preserving natural landscapes, combating climate change, and ensuring everyone’s history and connections to US lands are honored and celebrated.
Right now, Donald Trump, the billionaires who bought access to him, and their allies in Congress are waging an all-out assault on our parks and public lands, firing thousands of federal workers who steward these landscapes, shredding conservation protections for fragile ecosystems and places, and seeking to overturn more than a century's worth of conservation history. Their goal is to give public lands to corporate polluters and billionaires to mine, drill, log, and pollute as they please — activities that effectively block access to public lands for everyday people.
We must use every tool at our disposal, from the courts to pressuring our leaders to collective action, to stop this polluter giveaway. Every victory we've won to protect the places we hold dear has been thanks to the grassroots support of advocates like you who have written a letter, called your legislators, attended an event, posted on social media, talked to friends and family, donated, and so much more.
What You Can Do
Defend Grand Staircase & Bears Ears Monuments!
Defend Grand Staircase & Bears Ears Monuments!
July 2026 monument attack
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Press Releases
October 20, 2025
Staff at agencies including Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service would be impacted
October 9, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Republicans have approved resolutions to remove safeguards for wildlife, water, and recreation on landscapes across three Western states, including areas vital to Tribal communities.Senate Republicans utilized a dubious interpretation of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn three Resource Management Plans overseeing areas of public lands in Alaska, Montana, and North Dakota. The resolutions now move to the White House, where Donald Trump is expected to sign them.
October 1, 2025
BLM’s decision to amend the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan is a short-sighted attempt to undo over a decade of work.
September 10, 2025
Today, the Trump Administration continued its ongoing attacks on America's public lands by directing the elimination of the widely supported Public Lands Rule.
September 4, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Trump administration announced new policies that could undercut one of the country’s most significant conservation programs.
September 4, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Documents obtained by the Sierra Club provide a glimpse of the scale of the Trump administration’s attacks on federal land management agencies.
September 3, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Republicans passed a series of resolutions seeking to overturn safeguards for wildlife, water, and recreation on Western landscapes, including areas vital to Tribal communities.In an unprecedented move, House Republicans utilized the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to vote to overturn three Resource Management Plans developed to oversee areas of public lands in Alaska, Montana, and North Dakota. The resolutions now move onto the Senate.
August 25, 2025
Washington, DC – A review of official Trump administration documents obtained by the Sierra Club shows further opposition to Donald Trump’s attempt to whitewash history on public lands.
August 22, 2025
MIAMI – A federal judge has ordered a stop to expanding operations at “Alligator Alcatraz,” the controversial immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades.