Report: Trump Administration to Illegally Attack Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments
Earthjustice vows to take legal action if and when a presidential proclamation drops
Contacts
Perry Wheeler, Earthjustice, pwheeler@earthjustice.org
President Trump is reportedly planning another attack on Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, potentially as soon as Monday. ABC4 Utah reports that three local sources with knowledge of the plans claim the administration will sign an order on the monuments early next week. In response to the news, Earthjustice vowed to take legal action to maintain protections for these treasured landscapes once again.
The first Trump administration tried to strip monument protections from half of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and nearly 90% of Bears Ears National Monument. Earthjustice swiftly filed suit on behalf of conservation groups challenging the administration’s illegal actions. Those lawsuits are currently stayed in district court, as President Biden restored both monuments in 2021.
“Since day one of the Trump administration, rumors have swirled that Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante were once again in the President’s crosshairs,” said Heidi McIntosh, managing attorney for Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain Office. “If these reports are correct, it appears the administration is once again answering the calls of extractive industries and anti-public lands politicians like Senator Mike Lee, who have repeatedly attempted to undermine national monuments and sell off public lands. To attack our national monuments is to attack the countless cultural and natural resources that Tribes, local communities, and small businesses have fought to protect for decades. Earthjustice and our partners are prepared to vigorously defend these special places once again.”
The Antiquities Act of 1906 authorizes presidents to designate national monuments, but it does not give them the power to shrink the monuments created by their predecessors or to undercut their protections. Congress’s intent was clear: the Antiquities Act must be used to protect the nation’s archaeological, cultural, and scientific wonders.
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Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people's health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.