November 19, 2018 – The Emmett Environmental Law & Policy Clinic filed amicus briefs today in support of lawsuits challenging President Trump’s shrinking of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. The Clinic filed the briefs on behalf of 21 local elected officials from Utah, led by Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski, Boulder Mayor Steve Cox, and Bluff Mayor Ann Leppanen. The briefs argue that shrinking the monuments will harm local economies and undermine efforts to shift away from fossil fuels toward more sustainable sources of energy. In addition, they explain that allowing presidents to shrink monuments upsets the reliance interests of communities that have developed recreation- and tourism-focused economies and risks destabilizing the national monument system nationwide. The briefs also demonstrate that the decision was made pursuant to a flawed process that ignored local voices.
Clinic students Caroline Cox (JD ’18) and Frank Sturges (JD ’20) collaborated with Clinic Deputy Director Shaun Goho and Clinic Director Wendy Jacobs to write the briefs.
Several local news sources in Utah have reported on the briefs. Read the full briefs here and here.