Utah has no legal standing to second-guess President Biden's judgment in restoring the original boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in the state, a federal judge has ruled.
"It has long been held that where Congress has authorized a public officer to take some specified legislative action when in his judgment that action is necessary or appropriate to carry out the policy of Congress, the judgment of the officer as to the existence of the facts calling for that action is not subject to review," Judge David Nuffer wrote in his ruling (attached below) issued Friday. "President Biden’s judgment in drafting and issuing the Proclamations as he sees fit is not an action reviewable by a district court."
The state of Utah and two of its counties went to federal court last August in an effort to overturn the latest boundary change to the two national monuments, arguing that President Biden overreached the authority given him under The Antiquities Act.
The legal battle hinged on the authority The Antiquities Act grants the president of the United States to unilaterally designate national monuments. Former President Trump flew to Salt Lake City in December 2017 to issue presidential proclamations that sheered nearly 2 million acres from the two monuments; the 1.9-million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante had been designated by President Clinton in 1996, while the 1.3-million-acre Bears Ears had been designated by President Obama in 2016.
Bears Ears as originally designated was home to multiple culturally significant and archaeological sites dating as far back as 11,000 BCE. The land is still used today by tribal members, who continually visit it to conduct religious ceremonies and other traditional practices. Grand Staircase, meanwhile, is extremely rich in paleontological resources, with nearly 150 scientists having said the monument “hosts one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur fossils in the world,” and that only 6 percent has been surveyed, and that “the potential for future discovery is tremendous.”
But Trump maintained that Clinton and Obama overreached their authority under The Antiquities Act by creating national monuments larger than needed to protect historic, cultural, archaeological, and paleontological resources. The Republican then issued an executive order to cut Grand Staircase by a bit more than 1 million acres and broke it into three monuments known as Grand Staircase, Escalante Canyons, and Kaiparowits. Bears Ears shrank to a bit more than 201,000 acres in the Indian Creek and Shash Jáa units from its original size of 1.3 million acres.
Biden in the fall of 2021 reversed Trump's actions in a move both to keep a promise to restore the boundaries and also to uphold "the longstanding principle that America’s national parks, monuments, and other protected areas are to be protected for all time and for all people," the White House said at the time.
But in their lawsuit, Utah authorities claimed Biden went too far by restoring the original monument boundaries, arguing that the boundaries he restored were "not confined to qualifying historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, or other objects of historic or scientific interest."
The ruling "is another in a series of decisions that upholds a president’s authority to designate national monuments to protect important and vulnerable lands for the benefit of current and future generations,” said Heidi McIntosh, managing attorney for Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain Office, in reaction to the judge's ruling. “Utah put forth a flawed argument that sought to eviscerate the Antiquities Act, but like others before them, they have failed to do so. Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante protected these wonders from oil and gas drilling, mining, and other destructive uses. We are thrilled that the court agreed and upheld President Biden’s restoration of these monuments.”
“It’s been a banner week for national monuments on the Colorado Plateau,” added Tim Peterson, cultural landscapes director with the Grand Canyon Trust. “As we celebrate the creation of Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni − Ancestral Footprints of Grand Canyon National Monument, we rejoice at the news that the state of Utah’s lawsuit attempting to destroy Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments has been dismissed.”
Previous Traveler articles involving the two monuments:
Number Of Litigants In Bears Ears, Grand Staircase Lawsuit Swells
Conservation Groups Move To Intervene In Bears Ears Legal Battle
Battle Over Bears Ears Continues In Utah
Utah Sues To Overturn Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante Boundaries
Biden To Restore Boundaries To Bears Ears, Grand Staircase Monuments
Haaland's Utah Visit Leaves Her Much To Ponder Over Bears Ears, Grand Staircase Boundaries
Bears Ears: Endangered Wilderness
Proposed Management Plans For Utah Monuments Released, Draw Criticism
Law Professor Enumerates Flaws With President's Monument Modifications
President Trump Issues Proclamation To Shrink National Monuments, Tees Off Legal Battle
Senator Says President Trump Will Reduce Size Of National Monuments In Utah
Interior Secretary Calls For Reduction In Size Of Bears Ears National Monument
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