Outdoor retailer joins legal challenge to Trump's reduction of Utah monuments
Patagonia has joined a lawsuit against President Trump's decision to shrink Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by 90%. The company argues the move violates the Antiquities Act and betrays tribal sovereignty. The reduction opens nearly 3 million acres to oil and gas extraction.
The lawsuit marks the second time Patagonia has challenged Trump's actions on these Utah sites, following a 2017 suit during his first term that was ultimately rendered moot when Joe Biden restored the monuments. The current proclamations go further than the earlier attempt, shrinking protections by roughly 90 percent across both Bears Ears, created by Barack Obama in 2016 after years of Indigenous advocacy, and Grand Staircase-Escalante, established by Bill Clinton. Mining claims have already been filed in the newly exposed areas, and the NRDC's parallel federal suit warns that irreplaceable resources—ancient cliff dwellings, unique dinosaur fossils, and sacred tribal grounds—face permanent loss if extraction proceeds.
This legal battle could shape how future presidents interpret executive authority over public lands, potentially deterring or encouraging similar monument reductions depending on the outcome. Tribal nations, outdoor recreation businesses, and extractive industries all have direct stakes, as do local Utah communities whose economies may hinge on tourism versus resource development. A ruling against Trump could reaffirm the Antiquities Act's limits, while a ruling in his favor may embolden accelerated energy development on protected federal acreage, with lasting consequences for cultural heritage and biodiversity.