Want to pay less in taxes this year? Want to fight President Trump? Want to save our public lands? Donating to the charities suing to stop his reductions to Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments will accomplish all three of those goals. With our public lands under unprecedented assault, we can’t think of a better time to donate than now.
Each of the linked plaintiffs below are contributing to these lawsuits—and accepting donations.
Utah Dine Bikeyah et al. v. Trump et al.
Monument: Bears Ears
Plaintiffs: , , , , , , ,
Defendants: President Donald Trump, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, Bureau of Land Management Director Brian Steed, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tony Tooke
Argument: Under the Antiquities Act, the president has the authority only to create monuments, not to modify or eliminate them. Only Congress can do that. Plaintiffs claim Patagonia’s case is particularly interesting: It claims that the reduction makes worthless the millions of dollars it has invested in the monument, and that its other charitable efforts will suffer due to a need to invest even more in saving it.
Seeking: A restoration of the original size for Bears Ears and a ban on the administration from taking further action against it.
Natural Resources Defense Council Inc. et al. v. Donald J. Trump et al.
Monument: Bears Ears
Plaintiffs: , , , , , , , , , ,
Defendants: Same as above.
Argument: Artifacts and cultural sites are .
Seeking: To block extractive activities like drilling and mining from the area formerly protected by Obama’s monument declaration.
The Wilderness Society et al. v. Donald J. Trump et al.
Monument: Grand Staircase-Escalante
Plaintiffs: , , , , , , , , ,
Defendants: Donald Trump, Ryan Zinke, Brian Steed
Argument: Reducing the size of the monument renders “remarkable fossil, cultural, scenic, and geological treasures .”
Seeking: A stop to permits for drilling or mining in the area formerly protected by the monument.
Grand Staircase-Escalante Partners et al. v. Trump et al.
Monument: Grand Staircase-Escalante
Plaintiffs: , ,
Defendants: Donald Trump, Ryan Zinke
Argument: The Antiquities Act doesn’t authorize the president to reduce the size of a monument, and doing so leaves important and threatened plants, animals, insects, artifacts, and geological formations .
Seeking: To stop the government from “recognizing, enforcing, or otherwise carrying out” the size reduction.