SALT LAKE CITY — It's not a question of if, but when President Trump will sign another executive order to shrink the boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.
He originally did it in 2017, undoing the boundaries of Bears Ears, which was created by President Obama before he left office (Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was created in 1996 by President Clinton). In 2021, President Biden undid what Trump did.
"We’re anticipating the president is going to act unlawfully again and attack the Grand Staircase-Escalante and the Bears Ears national monuments," said Steve Bloch, the legal director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. "And by attack, he’s going to undo them."
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance was among a coalition of groups that sued over Trump's first executive order to shrink the monuments. That lawsuit is technically still pending in federal court in Washington, D.C. Essentially, they argue the President's powers under the Antiquities Act work one way — a president can create monuments, but does not have the power to modify them.
"If Trump dismantles the monuments, if he unlawfully attacks them, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and others will sue to challenge that unlawful action," Bloch told FOX 13 News.
The state of Utah is currently suing over Biden's decision to reinstate the boundaries that is pending in a federal appeals court in Denver.
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But Sen. John Curtis is floating a compromise to the back-and-forth of monument battles in Utah.
"I'm absolutely convinced there is a legislative answer that would bring to certainty to all sides of this," Sen. Curtis told FOX 13 News last week in response to a question about monument boundaries. "We did it in Emery County and I think we could do it there."
In 2018, then-Congressman Curtis (who represented the area where Bears Ears is) proposed land swaps that created a wilderness area in Emery County's San Rafael Swell. Environmental groups, including SUWA, were somewhat critical of it for not protecting enough areas but the measure did ultimately make it through Congress.
So could such a deal work for Bears Ears or Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments?
"On balance? That brought a lot of certainty to that area," Bloch said of the Emery County legislation. "We support that kind of an outcome. But the devil’s really going to be in the details for Bears Ears. There’s lots of players there’s lots of facets, but Sen. Curtis is right that Congress ultimately can legislate in this area."
Bloch said SUWA is willing to engage in conversations about a legislative compromise, but it's easier said than done.
"Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Native American tribes, the state, the county, other stakeholders would all have to be brought to the table for that kind of conversation," he said, adding they have yet to hear from Sen. Curtis about it.
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Sen. Curtis said he wants to talk.
"I would like to have this conversation," he said. "I'd like to present my approach to this. I've talked to Sen. Lee about it, I’ve talked to the governor about it. I do think given time, we could find a legislative answer that would put this to rest and bring harmony to the different sides on this."
