{
  "id": 10929172,
  "title": "When Trump Opened Bears Ears Land to Mining, the Hobbyists Swooped in",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/when-trump-opened-bears-ears-land-to-mining-the-hobbyists-swooped-in",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-30T11:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mother Jones",
    "slug": "mother-jones",
    "url": "https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/trump-bears-ears-national-monument-mining-uranium-claims-hobby-prospectors/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Shortly after President Donald Trump reduced the size of Bears Ears National Monument by roughly 90 percent in September 2021, prospectors began staking their mining claims on the protected land in southeast Utah. On the very first day the 1.2 million acres were opened for mining, 16 claims were filed by small-scale local miners with other jobs. Local attorney Steve Bloch expressed concern over the rapid timing of these claims, stating that they would likely cause harm to the monument's resources. George Schultz, an off-roading guide in Moab, filed three claims in the Lockhart Basin, noting that staking a claim is just a \"step\" in the mining process. He added that an area outside monument protections is meant for multiple uses. Kyle Kimmerle, a managing member of Kimmerle Mining based in Moab, declined to comment on the specific minerals at his claim sites but his LinkedIn profile mentioned experience in uranium exploration. Kimmerle's company owns the Easy Peasy mine and dug up 30 tons of ore in search of uranium in 2018, but the mine stopped operations due to low uranium prices. With the rise of artificial intelligence and increasing demand for electricity, Trump and Utah Governor Spencer Cox advocated for nuclear energy as a solution, with uranium being the main fuel for nuclear power.",
  "summary": "This story, originally published by Grist in partnership with The Salt Lake Tribune, is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. It didn’t take long for prospectors to stake their claims on land in southeast Utah that was previously protected in Bears Ears National Monument. On September 11, the first day the 1.2 million acres were opened […]",
  "key_points": [
    "President Trump reduced Bears Ears National Monument by 90% in 2021.",
    "16 small-scale miners filed claims on the first day of mining openings.",
    "George Schultz filed three claims, noting monument protections are for multiple uses."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}