BOULDER, Colorado — Utah officials and private citizens aiming to slash millions of acres from a pair of national monuments in their state are pressing to reopen failed federal lawsuits, arguing that that if the two sites expanded by the Biden administration are allowed to stand presidents can claim “effectively limitless” powers to conserve public lands.
In arguments Thursday before the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Utah Solicitor General Stanford Purser urged a three-judge panel to reinstate a lawsuit filed by state and county officials. An attorney in a case filed by mining interests and an off-road vehicle group likewise asked the court to reopen its case.
Both lawsuits center on President Joe Biden’s use of the Antiquities Act of 1906 to expand the boundaries of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in 2021, restoring 2 million acres of land removed by former President Donald Trump in 2017 at the behest of Utah lawmakers.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) and county officials allege that Biden exceeded his authority under the 1906 law, which allows presidents to set aside existing public lands to protect areas of scientific, cultural or historic interest. Their argument is that Congress had never intended for the law to be used to create sweeping reserves of public lands.
