Battle resumes to reverse ruling upholding Utah Grand Staircase
Opponents want appeals court to rule preserve was illegal By Judith Kohler Associated Press DENVER (AP) — One of the noisiest public-land battles in the West came back to life Thursday as opponents of the 1.7 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah tried to convince a federal appeals court that the creation of the preserve was illegal. Image Douglas C. Pizac, Associated Press The Mountain States Legal Foundation is reviving its lawsuit on the creation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah. The Denver-based Mountain States Legal Foundation asked the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse a lower court ruling last year that dismissed a lawsuit challenging the monument. Attorneys for the Department of Justice and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance argued before a three-judge panel that former President Clinton was within his rights when he invoked the Antiquities Act to create the monument in south-central Utah in 1996. The judges, who didn’t indicate when they will rule, questioned Mountain States’ legal standing to sue and whether it could show a direct stake in the issue. They also asked attorney Jayme Ship what right the foundation believes was violated. “I’m just at a complete loss as to what your cause of action is,” Judge David Ebel said. Ship contended that Clinton was motivated in part to protect wildlife and other values not covered by the Antiquities Act, depriving the public of certain uses of the land. She cited as an example a miner who could no longer explore the area. Mountain States has argued that Clinton exceeded the scope of the act and tried to create a de facto federal wilderness, which only Congress can designate. Clinton’s decision angered Utah state and congressional officials and area residents, who said the monument had locked up public land rich in coals and other minerals. The 1906 law allows the president to protect historic and scientific values threatened by development. President Theodore Roosevelt was the first to use it, establishing Devil’s Tower in Wyoming as a national monument. Ship also said Clinton violated the act by setting aside more land than needed for the features he wanted to protect. The judges, though, replied that Mountain States hasn’t said what size the monument should be or explained why 1.7 million acres is too big. The state of Utah filed a brief in support of Mountain States’ argument that the monument is too big. The state hasn’t suggested new boundaries, saying that should be decided in federal court. Lawsuits by Mountain States and the Utah Association of Counties were consolidated, but the counties didn’t join the appeal to the 10th Circuit. Stephen Bloch, attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, said the courts have given leeway to presidents in creating national monuments. U.S. District Judge Dee Benson in Salt Lake City ruled in April 2004 that Clinton had authority to make the designation. Bloch disputed the argument that Clinton usurped congressional authority, noting that Congress has approved funding for the monument through the years. He added that a miner cited by Mountain States lost his right to explore the area before the land was set aside because he didn’t submit the proper paperwork. Roads, visitor centers and oil drilling that were present before the monument was created are still allowed. Supporters say the monument, with its towering red rock walls, canyons and spires, has boosted tourism in an otherwise economically depressed area. Some area businesses, however, flew their flags at half-staff, schools shut down and people wore black ribbons the day Clinton signed officially created the monument. The state of Utah sued over Clinton’s move, but dropped the case in 1998 after the Interior Department agreed to hand over $50 million in cash, federal minerals and land in return for more than 370,000 acres of state trust lands in Grand Staircase-Escalante.
© 2005 Deseret News Publishing Company