Patagonia and environmental groups have filed lawsuits challenging President Trump’s July 2026 proclamations that reduced Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah by roughly 90%, removing protections from nearly 3 million acres.

The legal actions revive prior challenges to the Trump-era downsizing, building on earlier actions from 2017 and 2021, with Biden-era restorations having been reversed and new, smaller boundaries now under dispute.

Courts and observers frame the debate within a longer historical context, noting past reductions under various administrations and how precedent informs current arguments.

Officials argue the downsizings open lands to oil, gas and other extractive activities, citing potential mineral assets and national security justifications.

Conservationists contend congressional review under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act should precede large-scale cuts, while noting the Antiquities Act offers no explicit prescription for shrinking monuments.

Environmental and tribal voices warn that mining and drilling could irreversibly erode cultural sites, fossil records and cliff dwellings sacred to Indigenous peoples.

The legal dispute centers on whether the Antiquities Act authorizes shrinking or canceling monuments, with some DOJ opinions supporting presidential authority to remove land from monuments against conservationist readings.

The U.S. Department of Justice has historically argued for presidential power to remove land from a monument, a stance opposed by conservationists.

Patagonia’s CEO emphasizes protecting public lands and tribal sovereignty, arguing the land’s value transcends monetary considerations.

The Bears Ears landscape reduction ends the joint federal-tribal Bears Ears Commission’s management arrangement, reshaping governance of the area.

Utah state leaders have backed the downsizing, with Republicans present at signing, while Native tribal perspectives are portrayed as sidelined in the process.

Bears Ears was established in 2016 under Obama and Grand Staircase-Escalante in 1996 under Clinton, with both monuments holding sacred significance for Indigenous tribes.