Outdoor clothing and gear company Patagonia has filed a lawsuit against former President Donald Trump over the reduction in size of two national monuments in Utah—Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante. These monuments, managed in part by Indigenous tribes, were significantly downsized in July 2023, with each losing about 90% of its original protected area. The move opened up millions of acres of public land to potential oil drilling, uranium mining, and other industrial activities. Patagonia, which previously sued the Trump administration over similar reductions in 2017, joined a coalition of Indigenous and environmental groups in challenging the latest decision. The company's CEO, Ryan Gellert, called the reduction "tragic," saying it undermines tribal sovereignty and disregards years of efforts to create meaningful conservation plans for culturally significant lands. The lawsuit seeks to revive earlier legal challenges from 2017 that argued President Trump lacked the authority to reduce the size of the monuments. Those cases were paused when the Biden administration reversed the Trump policy and expanded the protected areas. Patagonia claims that the Antiquities Act, which allowed Presidents Obama and Clinton to create the monuments, does not provide the legal basis for reducing them. The company and its allies argue that the Trump administration’s actions contradict the intent of the law, which was meant to protect historic and natural sites, not to allow large-scale land reductions. The Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments hold deep cultural and spiritual significance for several Indigenous nations. Bears Ears was the first national monument created at the request of Native American tribes and the first to be co-managed by them. This marked a historic shift after centuries of U.S. government policies that often disregarded Indigenous land rights. Angelo Baca, a member of the Navajo and Hopi tribes, expressed disappointment that efforts to co-manage the land with tribes have been put on hold. The reduction of the monuments has drawn support from Utah’s Republican governor and congressional representatives, who argued that the protected areas were too large and that the Antiquities Act was meant to safeguard only the smallest necessary area to protect specific sites. The Trump administration and its allies have emphasized the economic and strategic importance of the land, citing its potential for energy development and national security. At least nine mining claims have already been filed on lands that were previously protected. Patagonia and its coalition argue that the reduction is part of a broader effort to roll back environmental protections, including the cancellation of renewable energy projects and attempts to weaken climate regulations. Gellert described the administration’s actions as a coordinated campaign against environmental and public land protections, which he said could take years or even decades to undo.