All articles tagged with #grand staircase escalante
Conservation groups filed federal lawsuits to challenge Trump's orders shrinking Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, arguing the reductions violate the Antiquities Act; Utah leaders welcomed the downsizing, protesters gathered outside the Governor's Mansion, and the suits seek to void both the 2017 and 2026 proclamations, with the outcome unclear and mining claims following the order.
Patagonia has joined a federal lawsuit challenging Donald Trump's 90% downsizing of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah, arguing the Antiquities Act does not authorize undoing protections and emphasizing tribal sovereignty and the public interest in safeguarding sacred lands.
President Trump signed an executive order that reduces Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears monuments in Utah by about 90% (from roughly 3 million acres to 300,000), aiming to open land to energy development. Utah Governor Spencer Cox praised the move as aligning with the Antiquities Act, while Native groups criticized it for erasing cultural sites. The sites were designated as monuments by Clinton in 1996 and Obama in 2016.
President Trump signed two executive orders to reduce nearly 3 million acres of protected land in Utah—1.69 million acres from Grand Staircase-Escalante and 1.24 million from Bears Ears—drawing criticism from environmental groups who label the move illegal and pledging legal challenges, while Utah officials praise the decision. The reductions come after Obama had restored Bears Ears and re-expanded Grand Staircase-Escalante, and legal questions linger about whether the Antiquities Act allows shrinking monuments.