Consider these Two Monuments on Their Own Merits

   So, are Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments simply too big? At 1.35 and 1.9 million acres, respectively, they each are roughly as big as the state of Delaware. They are each bigger than the Grand Canyon, and twice as large as all of Utah's national parks (there are five) put together.
   Or, so it is said, and I guess all that is true.
   Doesn't the Antiquities Act say monuments should, "be confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management"?
    And, weren't the first monuments all much smaller?
   "(I)t would be hard to argue with a straight face that both these monuments followed the law's dictates to set aside the 'smallest area compatible' with the objects in need of protection," says an editorial in the Deseret News.
   I've got a straight face, and I just might make that argument.
   The Antiquities Act is to protect "historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest." Take the first place designated as a national monument, Devil's Tower in Wyoming, which is the unique remains of a volcanic eruption. The "smallest area compatible" for it would be little more than the tower.
   But, what of Bear's Ears? It is said to contain the largest concentration of archaeological sites in all of North America, and maybe all the world. And, what of Grand Staircase-Escalante? It is known for its geology and fossils, scattered about.
   If you are to follow the Antiquities Act as you set the size and boundaries of the monument, wouldn't you identify each of the prehistoric artifacts and sites, draw a circle around them all, and set that as the size of the monument? There are more than 100,000 archaeological sites in Bears Ears. That's a little different than the single one that is in Devil's Tower National Monument. You can draw a lot smaller circle around one site than you can around 100,000 sites. If you have 100,000 sites to encompass, does it surprise you that they might be scattered across 1.35 million acres.
  Or, do you suggest the space in between the various archaeological sites should not be included? Should we have 100,000 separate monuments?
   So, you want the monument to include all the sites, if possible. And, it should be noted that new discoveries are still coming forth in Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante.
   Each of these two monuments should each be considered on its own merits. It does not matter if each of them is larger than the Grand Canyon or if they are about as large as the state of Delaware. Nor does it matter if the first monuments had much smaller boundaries. The "smallest area compatible" is going to have a complete different meaning when you have 100,000 sites to protect.
   I haven't seen on a map where all the sites are in each of the two monuments. Perhaps, if I did, I would agree that the two monuments are too large. But, I also would not be surprised if trimming needs to be done, it doesn't need to be as much as what the Trump administration is considering.

(Edited and added to 8/27/16