Patagonia Sues President Trump Over National Monuments Attack
The outdoor enthusiast company, Patagonia, is suing the Trump Administration for their planned reduction of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escelante National Monuments. On December 4th, President Trump gave a speech in Utah officially announcing his plans for the Utah monuments reduction, part of his executive order challenging the Antiquities Act of 1906.
The Bears Ears National Park was designated a national monument by President Obama days before he left office. This is just another attack on Obama’s presidential legacy. Following Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke’s proposal, Bears Ears will be reduced by 85 percent and Grand Staircase-Escelante by half, according to reports by the Guardian and Washington Post.
The Antiquities Act was signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt to protect public land. The act “obligates federal agencies that manage the public lands to preserve for present and future generations the historic, scientific, commemorative, and cultural values of the archaeological and historic sites and structures on these lands,” per the National Park Service.
The act allows presidents to designate public lands as a national monument, but cannot revoke or change monument status. Patagonia is suing Trump in court, claiming he mislead and lied about his plans for the national monuments and that his challenge of the Antiquities Act is illegal.
Patagonia is a outdoors activist company that sells hiking and climbing gear. They donate at least one percent of their profits to protect public land and support environmental protection agencies around the world, per Patagonia.com.
“Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis” Patagonia’s Mission Statement
Trump’s challenge of the Bears Ears and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments could set a precedent on how all monuments protected under the Antiquities Act are handled, which amounts to about 68 percent of our nation’s total protected land, WestWise reports.
Public land has an important role in America’s economy. Outdoor recreation is responsible for over seven million jobs and creates $887 billion in consumer spending, per the Outdoor Industry Association Economic Report, 2017. This also threatens the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) 10,000 plus employees, whose average salary is around $64,000 a year, per the BLM website. Both of these entities rely heavily on public land, national parks and monuments.
Trump’s attack on public land has spurred quite the movement to protect it. Along with Patagonia, hundreds of businesses, Native American tribes, and consumers have pledged support to America’s public land and the importance of the Antiquities Act. Patagonia started a twitter campaign that has resulted in 2.7 million responses since Monday.
As of Wednesday evening, Patagonia has officially filed a law suit against President trump citing an “extreme overreach in authority,” The Hill reports.
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