A lawsuit filed by four Utah plaintiffs challenging the Biden Administration's recent monument designations was joined last month by Arizona legislative leadership. The parties in Utah filed the lawsuit in 2022 over the practical consequences of these proclamations harming various groups, including local businesses, miners, ranchers, and Native Americans.
In August 2022, a lawsuit was initiated challenging Biden's use of the Antiquities Act to expand Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears monuments by over two million acres, accounting for more than 5% of the state's total area. The plaintiffs include a Native American Tribe member, a cattle ranch owner, a mining company executive, and a nonprofit director.
Plaintiff Suzette Morris, representing the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, emphasized the threat to cultural practices and access to sacred lands posed by the Bears Ears Monument's designation. Zebediah Dalton, owner of TY Cattle Company LLC and the TY Ranch in southwestern Utah, faced challenges due to expanded regulations impacting ranch management, causing significant financial losses.
Kyle Kimmerle, from Kimmerle Mining LLC, cited the adverse effects of post-expansion regulations on mining operations, resulting in abandoned claims and significant economic setbacks. Ben Burr, the executive director of the BlueRibbon Coalition, a non-profit entity, highlighted disruptions caused by monument designations, including trail closures and economic hardships for local businesses.
The Biden Administration’s most recent land designation is taking place in northern Arizona, according to a statement from the White House. The president allocated nearly 1 million acres as Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument in August. Formed from land previously overseen by the Bureau of Land Management and U.S Forest Service, this monument holds deep significance for numerous Indigenous tribes that have resided in the wider Grand Canyon region for over a thousand years, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
As they face their own land designation battle, Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen and Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma filed an amicus brief in support of Utah’s lawsuit against President Biden’s use of the Antiquities Act. The brief, filed on November 6, urges the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to hear Utah’s complaint. In September, Petersen denounced Biden’s designation of the monument as a "dictator-style land grab", according to a press release from the Arizona Senate Republicans website. He criticized the monument's designation as disingenuous due to its remote, unconnected location from the Grand Canyon, promising legal action against Biden's decision.
