Patagonia has joined a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s July 2026 order that slashes the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase‑Escalante national monuments by 90%, stripping protection from nearly 3 million acres.
The July 2026 proclamation
The Guardian reported that the July 2026 proclamation reduced the boundaries of both monuments by roughly 90 % and eliminated federal protection over almost 3 million acres. The administration said the change would allow the land to be “put to a higher‑priority use,” effectively clearing the way for oil and gas development in areas that were previously off‑limits.
Patagonia’s renewed legal challenge
On September 2, 2026 Patagonia filed a statement of intervention, formally joining the federal lawsuit that seeks to overturn the monument reductions. The filing, described by The Guardian, adds the outdoor‑clothing company as a plaintiff alongside environmental groups and tribal nations that argue the cuts violate the Antiquities Act.
Patagonia’s chief executive, Ryan Gellert, said the company’s participation is rooted in a legal view of the Antiquities Act: “The Antiquities Act does not give a president authority to undo monuments,” Gellert wrote, as quoted by The Guardian. He added that the act “protects not only natural landscapes but also sacred tribal sites” that would be exposed to extraction under the new boundaries.
Background: 2017 lawsuit and the Antiquities Act
Patagonia first sued the Trump administration in 2017 when the president announced an initial plan to shrink the same monuments. That earlier case was dismissed after President Joe Biden later restored the original boundaries, a reversal also covered by The Guardian. The 2026 challenge revives the argument that a president cannot unilaterally rescind a monument designation, a point the company’s legal team emphasizes.
The Antiquities Act of 1906 empowers presidents to proclaim national monuments but, according to Gellert’s statement, does not grant the power to repeal or drastically reduce them. The legal question therefore hinges on whether the 2026 proclamation exceeds the authority granted by the act.
What’s at stake and unanswered questions
If the court upholds the reduction, the nearly 3 million acres could see increased drilling, mining and road construction, altering ecosystems and tribal cultural sites. The Guardian notes that the affected lands include areas of high archaeological significance to Indigenous peoples, but the proclamation does not quantify the economic benefit of the opened acreage.
Several details remain unclear. The exact acreage removed from each monument has not been disclosed in the source material, nor have the projected revenues from oil and gas leases been quantified. The lawsuit’s timeline beyond the September 2 filing, including any upcoming court dates, is also not provided.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| July 2026 | President Donald Trump issues proclamation reducing Bears Ears and Grand Staircase‑Escalante monuments by ~90%. |
| September 2 2026 | Patagonia files a statement of intervention, joining the lawsuit challenging the reduction. |
| Source: The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/02/trump-patagonia-lawsuit-utah-national-monuments | |
The case will likely test the limits of presidential authority under the Antiquities Act and could set a precedent for future monument modifications. Until the court rules, the fate of the 3 million acres remains uncertain.