Eleven AGs Filed Amicus Brief Opposing Withdrawal of National Monument Protections

NOVEMBER 19, 2018

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson led a coalition of 11 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in opposition to the administration’s withdrawal of national monument protections for large portions of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah. The amicus brief was filed in support of national environmental groups’ and Native American tribes’ lawsuit challenging the administration’s actions. The attorneys general warned that Executive Order 13792 — which opened up the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments to mining and oil and gas extraction — violates the Antiquities Act, which does not authorize presidents to withdraw National Monument protections established by previous administrations. In their amicus brief, the attorneys general noted that Executive Order 13792 also authorizes an open-ended review of protections for other national monument across the country — a review that is also unlawful under the Antiquities Act.