Biden Restored National Monuments Reduced by Trump. Now Utah Is Suing to Shrink Them Again.

August 26, 2022

The state of Utah and two of its counties filed a lawsuit seeking to block President Biden’s restoration of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, five years after former President Trump drastically reduced the size of each monument in 2017.

In a joint statement, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, and Utah’s congressional delegation argued that far from protecting delicate landscapes, the monuments’ designations had put them in danger, draings unmanageable visitation levels to these lands without providing any of the tools necessary to adequately conserve and protect these resources. Outside