A National Monument is one type of public land. It is a piece of land set aside by a US President to preserve the cultural and historic significance of the area. 

What exactly does “public land” mean? Put simply, it is the areas of land that are open to the public and managed by different departments of the government. Federal, state, and local governments all manage different parcels of public land. This means that not only are national parks public lands, but state parks, and the city park down the street are all public land. Government rules and regulations on how lands can be used vary greatly. The area that became the Bears Ears National Monument was already public land. However, by declaring the area a national monument, it opened the doors for increased government regulation over how the land could be used for activities like cattle grazing, recreational use, and oil and gas development.