# Trump Opens Bears Ears for Mining Claims

> Prospectors quickly staked claims in Utah's Bears Ears National Monument after Trump reduced its size.
- Title: Trump Opens Bears Ears for Mining Claims · Mother Jones
- Summary: Prospectors quickly staked claims in Utah's Bears Ears National Monument after Trump reduced its size. Trump's September 11 opening of Bears Ears National…
- Keywords: bears ears, trump, mining claims, uranium, utah, bureau of land management, southern utah wilderness alliance, kimmerle mining, urano energy, nuclear energy, Opens, Bears
- Source: Mother Jones — https://motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/trump-bears-ears-national-monument-mining-uranium-claims-hobby-prospectors
- Author: Leia Larsen
- Published: 2026-09-30T07:30:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: bears ears, trump, mining claims, uranium, utah, bureau of land management, southern utah wilderness alliance, kimmerle mining, urano energy, nuclear energy
## Bears Ears Opens for Mining
On September 11, the first day the 1.2 million acres were opened up, miners filed 16 claims two months after President Trump shrank the monument by about 90 percent.
## Local Miners File Claims
All claims appear to be filed by small-scale local miners with other jobs, small businesses, and an interest in uranium mining.
## Environmental Concerns
Steve Bloch, an attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, warned hobby miners cause pollution and damage to monument resources.

> Hobby miners who want to go locate claims, play miner on the weekend, leave disturbance and pollution in their wake, that really damages the monument resources
## George Schultz Files Claims
George Schultz, an off-roading guide in Moab, filed three claims in the Lockhart Basin, calling staking a claim a 'step' in mining.
## Kimmerle Mining Claims
Kimmerle Mining filed 13 claims, including two modifications to the 21-acre Easy Peasy mine and 11 additional claims nearby.
## Kimmerle's Background
Kyle Kimmerle, a managing member of Kimmerle Mining, was appointed to Urano Energy's board in 2024 and operates a tire shop in Moab.
## Bears Ears History
Bears Ears became a political battleground after Obama established it in 2016, with Trump slashing its size by 85 percent the next year.
## Trump's Mineral Claims
Trump listed a 'grab bag of minerals' the lands may contain, including silver, copper, molybdenum, lead, uranium, vanadium, and zinc.
## Key takeaway

Trump's September 11 opening of Bears Ears National Monument allowed 16 mining claims to be filed within two months.