SALT LAKE CITY — Gov. Gary Herbert has signed a resolution asking Utah's congressional delegation to support shrinking southern Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
Herbert signed the legislative resolution Friday, saying then-President Bill Clinton included more land than necessary in his 1996 designation giving protected status to nearly 1.9 million acres.
Herbert said he wants to both express opposition to the manner in which Grand Staircase-Escalante was created and call for congressional action to correct a misuse of federal law.
Critics of the resolution have said it could prompt a backlash.
An outdoor trade show staged in Salt Lake City for two decades announced Thursday it will leave Utah over disagreement with state leaders over their public lands issues, including Herbert's call for President Donald Trump to rescind the new Bears Ears National Monument.