Conservation groups filed supplemental complaints in U.S. District Court to reactivate litigation against President Trump’s July 2026 reduction of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Southern Utah, according to a September 2 statement.
The lawsuit seeks to challenge both the 2017 monument rollbacks and the July 2026 boundary changes together. The July actions reduced both monuments by more than 90 percent, representing a reduction of one million more acres than the 2017 reductions.
The litigation was filed by Earthjustice, representing The Wilderness Society, National Parks Conservation Association, the Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Trust, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Western Watersheds Project, WildEarth Guardians, and the Center for Biological Diversity. The Natural Resources Defense Council and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) are co-plaintiffs.
Following the July boundary changes, multiple mining claims were filed in both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante. Conservation groups have urged the Bureau of Land Management to reject these claims, which they describe as premature and unlawful.
Michael Toll, a staff attorney for the Grand Canyon Trust, stated that a 2024 poll found more than 70 percent of Utah voters supported keeping the monuments protected. Additionally, a 2026 State of the Rockies poll found that 91 percent of Western voters believe existing national monument designations should remain in place.
The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was established in 1996 and is noted for dinosaur fossils from 21 previously undiscovered species. The region is also known for its geologic features and cultural significance to numerous Tribes.
Bears Ears National Monument contains over 100,000 Native American cultural sites and features cliff dwellings built by the Ancestral Puebloan people. A 2016 plan for the monument included a co-management structure involving federal agencies and five Tribes known as the Bears Ears Commission.
The plaintiffs have asked the court to reopen existing cases that are currently stayed and have formally requested permission to file the updated complaints.
