A group of Environmental and Conservation groups Sued President Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke in Federal Court on Monday, alleging that Trump did not have the Authority to dramatically Shrink Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
The change would reduce Bears Ears National Monument by over 80% and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by roughly 45%. The Two Presidential Proclamations, which Trump signed at an Event at the Utah Capitol, would break Bears Ears into Two National Monuments and Grand Staircase-Escalante into Three Separate Monuments.
The Lawsuit, which comprises The Wilderness Society, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club, and Seven other groups as Plaintiffs, argues that Trump’s decision to Reduce the Size of Grand Staircase-Escalante was ‘Unlawful’ and ‘Exceeds his Authority under the U.S. Constitution and the Antiquities Act.’.
A group of Native American Tribes in Utah was expected to File a similar Suit against Trump and his Administration in Federal Court over his decision to dramatically Shrink Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument. The Suit will come from Representatives from the Hopi, Zuni, Ute Mountain Ute, the Navajo Nation, and the Ute Indian tribe, Lawyers for the Tribes said.
The Lawsuit against Trump's action on Bears Ears argues that Trump is not Shrinking the National Monument, but Revoking its Status all together. "The President was plainly aware that he lacked the authority to revoke a monument and is thus transparently attempting to evade that strict limitation by purporting to reduce it but, as described herein, the President's action must be viewed as a revocation, particularly with respect to all objects not included in the two 'new' monuments," reads the Lawsuit.
Like the Bears Ears lawsuit, the Filing against Trump's Actions on Grand Staircase-Escalante argues Trump has Exceeded his Authority.
"The Act authorizes Presidents to create national monuments; it does not authorize Presidents to abolish them either in whole or in part, as President Trump's action attempts to do," reads the Filing.
The Antiquities Act, a Presidential Power that was first Signed by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1906, gives the President the Power only to Designate a Monument, not Revoke it, the Plaintiffs argue. Additionally, the Lawsuit argues that Trump's Order Violates the Separation of Powers because Congress has the Right to Change National Monuments created under the Antiquities Act.
"Grand Staircase is a cradle of biodiversity, and losing even an acre would be a crime," said Taylor McKinnon of the Center for Biological Diversity, a Plaintiff in the Case. "We must protect this monument's wildlife, stunning landscapes and cultural treasures for future generations. Trump and the fossil-fuel industry have picked the wrong battle."
Though Environmental Groups have also Protested Trump's Decision on Bears Ears and plan to File their own Suits, it is intentional that the Five Tribes filed the First Lawsuit against the Trump Administration for that Monument. "The tribes feel it was important to file first, to be ahead of the line, to make it very clear that this is not just a conservation issue," said Natalie Landreth, a Senior Staff Attorney at the Native American Rights Fund, a group representing the Hopi, Zuni, and Ute Mountain Ute in the Lawsuit. "To them, it is a tribal sovereignty issue."
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
No comments:
Post a Comment