Democrats pressure Trump to keep national monuments
Obama infuriated Utah Republicans when he created the monument in late December on 1.3 million acres of land that is sacred to Native Americans and home to tens of thousands of archaeological sites, including ancient cliff dwellings.
Republicans have asked Trump to take the unusual step of reversing the designation, saying it will add another layer of unnecessary federal control and close the area to new energy development.
The documents from Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva, the senior Democrat on the panel, detail repeated phone calls and visits between the Obama administration and Utah's congressional delegation and governor.
In a statement Thursday, Paul Edwards, Herbert's deputy chief of staff, said the documents released by Democrats illustrate that the state, the congressional delegation and the Interior Department worked for three years to try and find a solution together.