Judge Rejects Attempt to Dismiss Lawsuits Challenging Trump Monument Cuts

A D.C. federal court yesterday rejected an attempt by the state of Utah, local officials, and special interest groups to revive two lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s 2017 dismantling of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. Utah sought to reactivate the cases, then have them dismissed as moot, but Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled that a related monuments case in the Tenth Circuit must conclude before the D.C. cases can resume.

In 2017, conservation groups and Tribes filed the lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s unlawful decision to shrink Bears Ears by 85% and Grand Staircase-Escalante by half. Those cases have been stayed for several years, during which time President Biden restored both monuments. In 2022, the state of Utah and other monument foes filed lawsuits challenging Biden’s action; after the federal court in Utah dismissed the cases, Utah appealed the decision to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, where they remain pending.

“In 2017, as a favor to anti-monument politicians in Utah, the Trump administration unlawfully gutted Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments,” said Heidi McIntosh, managing attorney for Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain Office and attorney in the case. “These are wondrous places, with world-renowned fossils, important cultural sites, habitat for native plants and wildlife, and magnificent geological formations. We look forward to continuing this case at the appropriate time and will be steadfast in our defense of these remarkable places if the Trump administration again attacks the monuments. Our public lands exist for the benefit and enjoyment of all Americans, not for industry to plunder.”