The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a lower-court decision that had dismissed legal challenges to the monument designations for Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The court ruled against the previous dismissal based on sovereign immunity, remanding the cases back to the U.S. District Court in Utah.
As a result of this reversal, the boundaries established by President Biden remain in effect. The Bureau of Land Management plans for each monument will continue to guide management efforts.
The legal dispute stems from 2021, when the State of Utah, Garfield County, and the Blue Ribbon Coalition, among others, challenged the restoration of these monuments. These parties sought to undermine the validity of the Antiquities Act of 1906.
The two monuments serve as a vital ecological and cultural corridor, connecting several protected areas including Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, and Capitol Reef National Parks, as well as the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
Erika Pollard, the NPCA's Southwest Campaign Director, stated that these monuments are essential to the tourism economy of southern Utah and hold significant cultural importance for many Tribes. Pollard noted that the decision provides a renewed opportunity to defend presidential authority under the Antiquities Act.
Pollard also remarked that the Antiquities Act grants presidents the power to designate national monuments but does not provide the authority to dismantle them, adding that these lands are anchors for cultural heritage and identity.
