President Trump asserted that recreation in Bears Ears National Monument was "virtually impossible," aiming to justify a significant reduction in its protected area. However, documents obtained and reviewed by The New York Times reveal that federal officials were aware of substantial recreational use within the monument.

These internal documents, including assessments from the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service, indicate that officials had data showing a considerable number of visitors and various recreational activities taking place in the monument. This directly challenges the narrative presented by the Trump administration that the monument was underutilized and difficult to access for recreation.

The findings suggest that the decision to shrink Bears Ears, a move supported by Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, was not solely based on the limited recreational opportunities as claimed. The documents point to a disconnect between the public justifications for the boundary changes and the internal assessments of the monument's actual use. The reduction of Bears Ears by approximately 85% has been a point of contention, with critics arguing it was an effort to open up the land to resource extraction.