Social Media
Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument — larger than all five of Utah’s national parks combined — is one of the most extraordinary landscapes in America. It was protected because it matters: to science, to history, and to the people who call this region home. Its cliffs and canyons hold fossils that reshape our understanding of life on Earth, sacred and historic sites that carry deep cultural meaning, and fragile desert ecosystems found nowhere else.
But protection on paper is not enough.
Grand Staircase–Escalante Partners is a rural nonprofit rooted in the communities that surround the Monument. We work alongside local residents, scientists, land managers, and Tribal partners to care for this place every day. We support research and education, preserve cultural memory, improve trails and habitat, and create opportunities for local people to stay connected to the land and benefit from it responsibly.
The Monument’s future depends on steady, local stewardship. Our job is to make sure this landscape — and the communities tied to it — remain strong for generations to come.
Let’s take a moment to pause and reflect on the water that is vital to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and the Colorado River watershed it is connected to.
The rainwater (pictured here) fills a depression in an unnamed wash along the Burr Trail Scenic Backway. Water that enters this wash eventually flows into Lake Powell and contributes to drinking water supplies for millions of people, which is yet another reason to protect the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
Please also be extra cautious during your drives and recreation within the monument during this highly active monsoon season. Some roads may be impassable when wet and flash floods are likely in most drainages during these major precipitation events.
Photo by Jackie Grant
Sep 7
There is still time to vote! Round 2 closes Monday night.
Copy and paste this link to see Round 1 results: gsenm.org/species-bracket-results
And this to vote in Round 2: gsenm.org/species-bracket
Sep 6
Our stewardship team is looking for volunteers to join our fall projects! We have single and multi-day options available. Sign up and more information can be found at the link in bio.
Fall Volunteer Opportunities:
🌵September 24th: Tin Can Flat Clean Up for Public Lands Day
🌻October 15th: Spencer Flat Clean Up
✨October 22nd-24th: Dry Forks & Hole in the Rock Road Clean Up
🌲November 5th-7th: Burr Trail Road Clean Up
Sign up link in our bio!
Sep 5
Copy and paste this link to see Round 1 results: gsenm.org/species-bracket-results
And this to vote in Round 2: gsenm.org/species-bracket
Sep 4
🌵 ROUND 2 VOTING IS OPEN! 🦉
The competition is getting tougher as the winning species advance to a new round of head-to-head matchups.
Check out the Round 1 winner, choose your favorites, submit your votes, and help decide which wild neighbor will be crowned the Monument’s champion! Vote in every round for a chance to win GSEP swag.
Vote now: https://gsenm.org/species-bracket/
Who are you rooting for? Tell us in the comments—and invite your friends to vote!
#SpeciesBracket #GrandStaircaseEscalante #GSENM #UtahWildlife #VoteNow
Sep 4
Filing a new complaint challenging President Trump’s assault on Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is only the first step envisioned to defend this treasured landscape. By filing this motion and proposed complaint now, the Conservation Lands Foundation and its co-plaintiffs are positioned to challenge at any moment any Bureau of Land Management (BLM) implementation decisions undermining the integrity of the national monument and otherwise threatening these protections. Plaintiffs have been tracking BLM activity on the ground, and will remain vigilant if BLM attempts to open the landscape to mining claims, mineral leasing, drilling, road construction or other activities that could cause permanent harm.
Read the full @conservationlands press release linked in our bio. #savegrandstaircase
Sep 3
Reminder - Voting ends tomorrow.
GAME TIME! We are hosting a final four style vote for your favorite species that live in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. 32 species will face off in head-to-head matchups until one is crowned champion.
Everyone who votes in every round will be eligible for a drawing to pick three winners of GSEP swag. Link to participate and vote is in our Instagram bio: GAME TIME! We are hosting a final four style vote for your favorite species that live in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. 32 species will face off in head-to-head matchups until one is crowned champion.
Everyone who votes in every round will be eligible for a drawing to pick three winners of GSEP swag. Link to participate and vote here: https://gsenm.org/species-bracket/
Sep 3
Grand Staircase Escalante Partners and our local and national partners working to protect and defend Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument filed motions today, asking the federal court to allow them to challenge President Trump’s most recent assault on this Tribally-significant and culturally important national monument. The filing reactivates litigation first brought in December 2017, when Conservation Lands Foundation and its partners challenged President Trump’s initial reduction of Bears Ears and
Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. The July 13, 2026, proclamations remove protections on more than 90 percent of each monument.
The Conservation Lands Foundation,
and the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology join us as co-plaintiffs in this lawsuit.
“Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has generated predictable growth and economic stability in southern Utah for thirty years. Over this time, local family-run businesses have grown around the guiding industry, scientific exploration of the Monument, and providing sustenance and lodging for millions of visitors. Long-term, stable economic growth is much more valuable to our local communities than the boom-and-bust economies that go hand in hand with extractive industries. We are obligated to return to court to protect our local communities and the inherent value of Utah’s public lands.” Dr. Jackie Grant, Executive Director of Grand Staircase Escalante Partners.
Downsizing Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was illegal in 2017, and it remains illegal today. Opening these lands to short-term industrial exploitation threatens permanent harm to America’s public lands system. We remain alert and fully prepared to challenge any attempts to open these sacred places to drilling, mining, or road construction. Our commitment to standing alongside Tribal Nations and defending our shared natural heritage will not waver.
Read more via the press release and @nytimes story by @maxinecoversclimate via link in our bio.
#MonumentsForAll #SaveGrandStaircase
Sep 2
“These Presidential Proclamations cause harm to Veterans who need public lands to heal, to Tribes who need public lands to connect to sacred lands and non-human relatives, to Scientists who need public lands to learn about what makes American landscapes unique, to Americans who need public lands to learn about themselves and their country, and to Locals who need healthy public lands to make a living for themselves in small, isolated rural communities.” - Dr. Jackie Grant
Photo courtesy of ecoflight
Sep 1
