A challenge to two national monuments in Utah can continue, after an anticipated ruling from a federal appeals court in Denver Tuesday.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals is sending a case over the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante national monuments back to a lower court.
It allows a lawsuit from Utah, a couple of its counties and more plaintiffs to move forward. They challenged President Biden’s monument designations, saying he overstepped presidential authority by making them too broad and too big.
In his first term, President Trump dramatically shrunk the size of the monuments. Biden reversed the move, restoring both monuments and slightly expanding Bears Ears.
A district court said it couldn’t judge the president’s decisions because the authority to create monuments under the Antiquities Act is so expansive. But in a 2-1 decision, the 10th Circuit judges said that argument didn’t hold water, and that courts can review monument designations.
It instructed the district court to take another look. The monuments are still intact.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
