Utah Sues President Joe Biden Over State Monument Expansion Plans

Last year, President Joe Biden issued an order that sanctioned a total of 3.2 million acres of land around the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments to be protected, re-establishing perimeters the Donald Trump administration had reduced in 2017.  

However, it appears the State of Utah isn’t in favor of the decision, having filed a lawsuit against the Head-of-State that claims the restored sites are too big. It alleges Biden has violated the Antiquities Act, a decree allowing presidents to protect cultural and historic landmarks. 

Specifically, according to The Hill, the state contends that the president overstepped the statute, which details that the parcels of land designated for protection “shall be confine to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of objects to be protected.” 

“The lands that make up Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments are a stewardship that none of us take lightly. But rather than guarding those resources, President Biden’s unlawful designations place them all at risk,” tweeted Governor Spencer J Cox, in favor of the lawsuit. 

“The vast size of the new monuments draws unmanageable visitation levels without providing the tools necessary to adequately conserve and protect them… Utah is challenging President Biden’s actions so that diverse stakeholders can work together on a long-term congressional solution for the conservation of these lands,” he further explained. 

As per ARTnews, officials in the state have argued that Biden’s use of the Antiquities Act had ignored the interests of the state and local governments managing the monument. Though, others have fought back, championing the preservation of these important landscapes. 

“By filing a lawsuit against the federal government over these monuments, the State of Utah is wasting taxpayer money trying to undermine something that is evident to anyone who spends time in these remarkable landscapes—that Bears Ears and Grand Staircase deserve protection,” wrote Jennifer Rokala, Executive Director of the Center for Western Priorities, in a statement.

With the monuments having been a topic of contention for over two decades, one can only hope an agreement will be reached as soon as possible. 

The lawsuit argues the size of the monuments, which covers a combined 3.2 million acres, violates the Antiquities Act of 1906, which limits presidents to keep monuments “confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected.”

— Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox (@GovCox) August 24, 2022

[via The Hill and ARTnews, cover image via Martha Marks | Dreamstime.com]