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As one of his first acts in office, President Biden issued an executive order on January 20 directing the Secretary of the Interior to review the revocation of the Bears Ears National Monument, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. The Secretary is required to complete the review and submit a report to the president within 60 days with recommendations for actions consistent with the Antiquities Act.

The National Trust has been participating in a lawsuit challenging the revocation of Bears Ears National Monument for several years. The case has been fully briefed since last summer and is awaiting a decision by the D.C. federal district court. The key question in that litigation is whether Congress delegated the president authority under the Antiquities Act of 1906 to revoke monument designations.

As a result of President Biden’s Executive Order, the court has set a deadline of March 5, 2021, for the government to indicate whether the litigation should be stayed while the Secretary completes the review process. It is widely anticipated that legal protections for these monuments may ultimately be restored, and the National Trust has communicated our support for restoration to incoming officials. The National Trust will continue to be deeply engaged not only to protect Bears Ears, but also to maintain the integrity of the Antiquities Act.

As one of President Biden’s first acts in office, an Executive Order was issued on January 20, 2021 directing the Secretary of the Interior to review the revocation of the Bears Ears National Monument, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument.

The Secretary is required to complete the review and submit a report to the President within 60 days with recommendations for actions consistent with the Antiquities Act.

The ongoing litigation challenging these monument revocations will likely be stayed while this review is completed and next steps are determined. It is widely anticipated that legal protections for these monuments will ultimately be restored. The National Trust will continue to be deeply engaged and provide updates on this critical issue.

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The National Trust and our partners took another step to ensure that the cultural resources within Bears Ears National Monument are protected.

On August 26, 2019, we filed a formal protest of the Monument Management Plan released by the Bureau of Land Management earlier this summer. The Plan does not include sufficient protections for cultural resources, and only includes the two small national monument units created by President Trump in 2017.

Further action on this flawed management plan should be put on hold until the courts resolve the legal challenges against the revocation of Bears Ears National Monument.

The National Trust has released a statement in response to the release by Bureau of Land Management (BLM) of its final management plan and Environmental Impact Study for the two small national monument units created by President Trump in 2017 to replace the Bears Ears National Monument.

Read the full statement here.

On April 16, 2019, the San Juan County Commission filed a motion in federal court to withdraw from the lawsuits challenging the current administration’s plan to downsize Bears Ears National Monument. The County had previously intervened in support of the administration’s revocation of Bears Ears. The County changed its position following the outcome of last November’s elections. Two out of three of the county’s commissioners are now Navajo.

In February, the commission also passed two resolutions—one that rescinded previous resolutions opposing the creation of the Bears Ears National Monument or calling for its reduction, and another that directed the San Juan County Attorney to withdraw the county’s involvement in this lawsuit.

Taken together, these actions demonstrate forward movement in saving this National Treasure from looting, vandalism, and incompatible oil and gas development.