Patagonia, tribes and conservationists reopen suit to block Utah national monuments reduction

The same coalition sued the Trump administration in 2017 after Trump sought to significantly reduce protections for the two national monuments, which was resolved when Joe Biden restored them as president.WASHINGTON (CN) — Patagonia and a coalition of Indigenous tribes and conservation groups reopened a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration on Wednesday over the decision to significantly reduce the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah.President Donald Trump announced July 13 that he had approved a 91% reduction of the sites, totaling over 3 million acres between the two monuments, to open the land to corporate developers and the oil and gas industry.Patagonia, along with the Hopi Tribe, the Navajo Nation, the Ute Indian Tribe, the Zuni Tribe and conservation groups led by the Natural Resources Defense Council, sued the Trump administration in 2017, challenging an initial effort former President Joe Biden ultimately reversed before the case concluded.In a 50-page second amended complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the coalition argues Trump’s reduction clearly violated the Antiquities Act of 1906, as the statute grants presidents only the power to declare and reserve national monuments, not abolish them.They warn that without judicial intervention, there will be significant damage to the “rich history and scientific wonders” at the sites, noting Bears Ears is one of the most ecologically intact and least-roaded regions in the contiguous United States. Within the site, paleontologists have found fossils ranging from freshwater sharks and massive amphibians to ferns the size of trees, showing the monuments’ transformation from a tropical sea to a desert.Further, cliff dwellings, granaries, rock paintings and remnants of villages are tied to the spiritual, historic and cultural significance Indigenous tribes hold for the area.“President Trump’s unlawful actions imperil these and other irreplaceable resources by opening the lands around them to hard rock mining; oil and gas leasing; and other destructive uses that the default federal land laws generally authorize,” the coalition wrote. “Indeed, mining companies located claims on the excised lands following the 2017 Dismantling Proclamation and have already done so again following the 2026 Dismantling Proclamation. Plaintiffs ask the court to enforce the limits of Congress’ narrow delegation of power to the president.”The two monuments were created by former President Barack Obama, who used the Antiquities Act to protect them in 2016. The declaration included a co-stewardship model for Indigenous tribes that became common in future declarations.According to the coalition, Biden’s restoration of monument protections on Jan. 20, 2021, came too late to prevent new hard rock mining claims and destructive ground-disturbing activity.“Congress did not authorize presidents to revoke national monument status,” the coalition wrote. “As demonstrated here, such revocations lead to erratic ping-ponging of monument designations and inevitably result in irreplaceable loss of the scientific and historic ‘objects’ the act authorizes the president to protect. Instead, Congress intended national monuments to be durable — unless Congress itself acts using its property clause powers.”U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, an Obama appointee, administratively stayed the case on Sept. 30, 2021, following Biden’s restoration and several months of status reports by the parties that showed their claims had been mooted. While the litigation was closed, the government and the coalition continued filing joint status reports through 2022 and 2023.In a statement announcing the reopening of the lawsuit, Patagonia Chief Executive Ryan Gellert slammed Trump’s comments during his July 13 decision that falsely claimed the monuments were inaccessible and that the protections “took the land from the people.”Gellert noted Bears Ears had approximately 416,000 visitors in 2024, while Grand Staircase-Escalante had approximately 936,000.“Tourism at the monuments powers local economies and creates a sustainable source of income for surrounding communities,” Gellert said. “To say, as the president did, that visitors ‘can virtually not even walk on’ the monuments is more than just hyperbole. It is simply not true. Visitors can hike, backpack, mountain bike, rock climb (mostly in Bears Ears), canyoneer, hunt, fish — the list goes on.”According to Headwaters Economics, the population surrounding Bears Ears increased by 6% between 2001 and 2022, while employment in the area grew by 31%. Further, per capita income grew by 44%, as earnings per job grew 8%.Meanwhile, the area around Grand Staircase-Escalante saw a 26% population increase over the same period, with jobs growing 51%.Overall, outdoor recreation contributed more than $9.76 billion to Utah’s economy in 2023, according to Headwaters.“National monument designation grants protection to the land from being irreparably damaged by unlimited mining, drilling, logging or other extractive development,” Gellert added. “To this administration and a subservient group in Congress, that protection is a problem.”The White House did not respond to a request for comment.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads