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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Attorney General's Office is appealing the decision by a federal judge to dismiss the state's lawsuit against President Joe Biden's designation of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.
The brief, filed Tuesday, argues Biden's designation of more than 3.2 million acres and over 500 objects deemed having "historic or scientific interest" violates the Antiquities Act of 1906, which limits the president's ability to create monuments "confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected," a statement from the attorney general's office says.
"In doing so, (the president) made it a crime for southern Utahns to go on land that they have lived and worked on for generations, to turn over soil, do roadwork, prevent wildfires, remove invasive species, or care for wildlife," the appeal claims.
The appeal says a majority of the 500 objects deemed of historic or scientific interest do not qualify under the Antiquities Act's requirements and include "ordinary things" such as soil, shrubs, rice-grass, beetles, bees, sunflowers and forested slopes.
It claims the monument designations increase vandalism, desecration and theft; and have caused the "lush landscapes" to decay and native plants and animals to die.
"What were once cherished places known only by locals have become soiled with trash, litter and human biological waste. Visitors drawn by the reservations have degraded local roads and brought on unprecedented looting," the appeal says. "The monument reservations prevent Utahns from caring for the land they love."
What were once cherished places known only by locals have become soiled with trash, litter and human biological waste. Visitors drawn by the reservations have degraded local roads and brought on unprecedented looting.
–Opening Brief of Plaintiffs-Appellants, 10th Circuit Court of Appeals
Utah leaders, as well as Kane and Garfield counties, filed the lawsuit against the federal government in federal court in August 2022, arguing that Biden's order was "an abuse of the president's authority under the Monuments and Antiquities Act."
"These public lands and sacred sites are a stewardship that none of us take lightly," a group of Utah leaders wrote in a statement at the time of the lawsuit's filing. "The archeological, paleontological, religious, recreational, and geologic values need to be harmonized and protected. Rather than guarding those resources, President Biden's unlawful designations place them all at greater risk."
U.S. District Judge David Nuffer sided with the federal government and four Native American tribes, who had petitioned for the lawsuit to be dropped, in a 28-page ruling on Aug. 11.
"In spite of the sincere and deeply held view of the plaintiffs, there is no relief for them in this action," Nuffer concluded. "President Biden's judgment in drafting and issuing the proclamations as he sees fit is not an action reviewable by a district court."
Judge dismisses Utah's national monuments lawsuit; state vows to appeal
A federal judge dismissed Utah's lawsuit over President Biden's decision to reinstate the size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in southeast Utah.The Utah Attorney General's Office issued a statement that same day, saying it "respectfully but strongly disagrees" with the ruling and plans to appeal the decision. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox added that he believes the case will ultimately end up in the U.S. Supreme Court and that Nufer's ruling "helps us get there even sooner."
"Monument designations over a million acres are clearly outside that authority and end up ignoring local concerns and damaging the very resources we want to protect," the governor said in August. "We look forward to starting the appeals process immediately and will continue fighting this type of glaring misuse of the Antiquities Act."
The appeal was filed in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and alleges Biden's declarations exceed "statutory authority" and the scope of the Antiquities Act.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton designated 1.7 million acres in 1996 and former President Barack Obama reserved 1.35 million acres in 2016. Utah legislators passed two resolutions in 2017 regarding the designations and former President Donald Trump, shortly after, reduced the two prior designations by about 1.11 million acres, "to allow for more targeted protection of specific sites and to revive the multiple-use approach in the remaining areas," the attorney general's office said.
Biden restored the borders of the monuments in October 2021, designating 3.23 million acres to the two monuments, in an executive order. Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes pointed out in a statement the land is twice as large as Delaware, four times larger than Rhode Island and just barely smaller than the size of Connecticut.
