About 300 people gathered in front of the San Juan County Courthouse on Thursday morning in Monticello to protest the newly-created Bears Ears National Monument.
San Juan County Commissioner Bruce Adams was one of about a dozen local and state elected officials who spoke to the crowd. He encouraged president-elect Trump to reverse the monument designation.
“President Obama, you have disappointed the people of San Juan County,” Adams said to cheers. “We ask the president-elect, ‘Trump this monument.’”
No U.S. president has ever removed a monument designation, and the Antiquities Act does not provide any guidance on how to do so. The process would likely involve congressional action and be met with legal opposition.