Utah National Monument Survives Attempt to Rescind its Management Plan
Key takeaways
- June 17, 2026 Share This Article Republish Autumn Gillard has been fighting to protect the Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument since 2017.
- For her people, the southern Paiute, the bighorn sheep is sacred.
- But the years have been harsh to the panel of petroglyphs.
Why this matters: environmental and climate reporting with long-term consequences.
June 17, 2026 Share This Article Republish Autumn Gillard has been fighting to protect the Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument since 2017. Credit: Raymond Chee Related Logging Project Near Yellowstone Could Threaten Wildlife Habitat and Tourist-Dependent Businesses A Little-Used Maneuver Could Mean More Drilling and Mining in Southern Utah’s Redrock Country Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is Yet Again Under Threat, This Time From Congress Share This Article Republish Most Popular Trump’s EPA Unlawfully Cancelled Environmental Justice Grants, Judge Rules Hoover Dam Approaches a Hydropower Cliff An Old Well Gushed Waste, Not Oil, in a Small West Texas Town GRAND STAIRCASE-ESCALANTE NATIONAL MONUMENT, Utah—When Autumn Gillard first visited this national monument in southern Utah’s red rock country, she hiked to the top of a plateau. Her heart was broken there.
For her people, the southern Paiute, the bighorn sheep is sacred. Ancient petroglyphs depicting the species that still calls Grand Staircase-Escalante home covered the cliff walls around Gillard’s perch.
But the years have been harsh to the panel of petroglyphs. Graffiti lined the walls. The Cut Sheep Panel was even named for the big square sliced into the stone around it, evidence that someone tried to steal one of the petroglyphs from the site.