As soon as federal protections lapsed, mining companies staked 16 new claims across thousands of acres excised from Bears Ears—targeting areas next to Canyonlands and popular backcountry routes.

Following a presidential proclamation that shrunk Bears Ears National Monument by 90 percent and dissolved its historic Inter-Tribal Commission, the federal government is removing Tribal seals from monument entrance signs.

As the Gold Mountain Fire explodes to 28,000 acres in Southwest Colorado, local residents face the unnerving reality of daily life continuing under a thick blanket of smoke. Here is what the long-term consequences mean for the region.