National monuments across the West do more than preserve iconic landscapes — they also help protect the rivers millions of people rely on for drinking water.
However, a new analysis warns those protections could weaken under the Trump administration's push to redraw the boundaries of several monuments.
The report from the Center for American Progress examines how shrinking or redefining monuments like Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante could expose headwaters and river corridors to new development.
Those rivers feed major systems such as the Colorado River, which supplies major cities like Denver, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.
Many of the river miles flowing across monument lands have no other conservation designations, according to Drew McConville, one of the report's co-authors.
That means the current monument boundaries are often the primary safeguard keeping surrounding development — including mining, drilling, or industrial activity — at a distance from critical water sources.
"If the Trump administration were to decide to strip protections from these lands, they could be exposed to extractive development and all of the pollution and impacts that could come along with it," McConville said.
Those impacts would ripple far beyond the monument borders. McConville noted that rural, small-town, and tribal communities — many already facing drought, aging water systems, and climate-driven water shortages — are particularly vulnerable.
Losing protections upstream could worsen water quality concerns downstream, raising treatment costs or increasing contamination risks.
He said decisions made in the coming months could shape the region's water security for decades.
"These are communities that are facing drought and worsening impacts because of climate change," he said. "They really can't afford to have their drinking water sources put at risk."
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between KUNR, Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
Copyright 2025 KUNR News
