Patagonia Joins Lawsuit to Block Trump’s Monument Reductions in Utah

Patagonia and a coalition of conservation groups filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court seeking to overturn President Donald Trump’s recent proclamations that cut 91 % of Bears Ears National Monument and nearly 90 % of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The reductions remove protections from roughly 3 million acres, opening the land to oil drilling, uranium mining and other extractive activities. The plaintiffs argue that the Antiquities Act of 1906 authorizes a president to designate national monuments but does not permit their shrinkage, making the proclamations “illegal orders” that exceed presidential authority.

The GuardianNew York TimesPatagonia, Sierra Club Sue Over Trump’s Move to Shrink Monuments

Bears Ears was created in 2016 by President Barack Obama after years of advocacy by Indigenous tribes; Grand Staircase-Escalante was designated in 1996 by President Bill Clinton. Trump first targeted the sites during his initial term, and the current reductions represent a far larger rollback than any prior attempt.

The Guardian

The filing, led by the Wilderness Society, Utah Dine Bikeyah, and the NRDC, asks Judge Tanya Chutkan to vacate the stays on earlier challenges and declare the monument rollbacks unconstitutional. The complaint cites the Antiquities Act’s limitation on presidential power and points to at least nine mining claims already staked in areas removed from the monuments.

Patagonia, Sierra Club Sue Over Trump’s Move to Shrink Monuments The GuardianNew York Times

In his July proclamations, Trump argued that the reductions would allow the lands to be “put to a higher-priority use,” emphasizing the presence of “critical minerals” essential for “resource independence” and “national security.” Patagonia’s CEO Ryan Gellert said the company would not remain silent while “anti-public lands crusaders” seek to exploit the area for extractive-industry interests.

The Guardian

• “We will not stand idly by while anti-public lands crusaders attempt to exploit these lands for their extractive-industry friends or disrespect tribal nations,” — Ryan Gellert, the company’s CEO

The Guardian

• “Protecting Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante is worth more than any amount of money. The vast majority of Americans agree,” — Ryan Gellert, the company’s CEO

The Guardian

• “These monuments protect places that took millions of years to form. President Trump is trying to destroy them with a stroke of a pen. That cannot stand,” — Christy Goldfuss, the NRDC executive director

The Guardian

These statements underscore the plaintiffs’ view that the reductions threaten tribal sovereignty, cultural heritage, and the long-term value of the protected landscapes.

The Guardian