Around 150,000 acres of trust lands are scattered in and around Bears Ears National Monument. Generating economic activity for the surrounding area or revenue for the public school system from these lands has been historically difficult due to the remote nature of the land and the prevalence of archaeologically important sites. The initial designation of the Bears Ears National Monument in 2016, followed by the size reduction in 2017, and then the re-expansion in 2021 has only compounded these challenges. Restrictive designations on surrounding federal lands and uncertainty created by political wrangling on all sides of the issue have neutralized Trust Lands’ ability to generate economic activity on these lands. Trust Lands now has an opportunity to improve its land position significantly, both within San Juan County and other areas of the state, by trading its land holdings in and around the monument to the federal government and acquiring other federal lands with more significant revenue-producing potential. The lands that Trust Lands is targeting for acquisition have the potential to generate millions of dollars in revenue within the next few years and hundreds of millions over the long term as they are developed.