Kaiparowit Plateau: Rich with coal and world-class fossils

President Trump's recent proclamation trimming portions of Utah's Kaiparowits Plateau out of Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument has opened up mining access to vast coal resources — but also jeopardized world-class repositories of fossils, including rare species of dinosaurs and early mammals from the Late Cretaceous Era.

Grand Staircase-Escalante and shrinkage

Retired coal leases

Coal deposits (4-foot seams)

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune, DOGM, Utah Geological Survey,