Legal challenges first filed almost a decade ago against President Donald Trump’s reductions to Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments can now move forward. U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan lifted stays on the lawsuits this week, specifically on Tuesday, from Washington, D.C.
The ruling allows the cases to proceed and requires the Trump administration to provide 48-hours’ notice before any ground-disturbing activities can occur on lands previously cut from the monuments. This decision follows moves by environmental groups to reopen the cases after Trump redrew the boundaries once again in July, prompting concerns as mining claims have already been filed on these newly excluded lands.
Steve Bloch, legal director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, stated that the monuments’ unique geology, flora, fauna, and irreplaceable cultural resources are now threatened by activities such as mining. These lawsuits originated against Trump’s initial reductions during his first term in 2017, when environmental groups and tribal organizations first waged legal battles to restore the monument boundaries. The cases were subsequently stayed in 2021 when former President Joe Biden restored the boundaries.
Trump and the White House have maintained that the Obama and Biden administrations overstepped their authority by using the Antiquities Act to create the monuments. They have asserted that Trump’s July orders were intended to “rightsize” Bears Ears, allowing for what they term “common-sense land use” and the mining of critical minerals such as uranium, copper, and others.
However, tribal representatives have reported “zero consultation” regarding these monument reduction decisions. Bears Ears, established by then-President Barack Obama in 2016, was notable as the first national monument in the nation created at the urging of Native American tribes, to whom the land holds sacred significance. Grand Staircase-Escalante was initially designated by former President Bill Clinton in 1996.
State leaders in Utah have long argued that the monuments are too expansive and impose overly restrictive land use policies. Utah’s Republican governor, House speaker, and congressional delegation were present with President Trump in the Oval Office when he signed the orders that reduced the monument sizes. In his first term, President Trump significantly reduced Bears Ears from approximately 1.35 million acres to about 228,000 acres, and Grand Staircase-Escalante from roughly 1.87 million acres to about 1 million acres. This summer’s subsequent round of cuts further shrank Bears Ears to approximately 121,000 acres and Grand Staircase-Escalante to about 182,000 acres.
