https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/02/trump-patagonia-lawsuit-utah-national-monuments
President’s order strips nearly 3m acres of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, sacred tribal sites, of safeguards
Patagonia, the outdoor clothing and gear company, has joined a lawsuit challenging Donald Trump’s decision to significantly reduce the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah, removing protections from nearly 3m acres.
In July, the president approved the reduction of the sites by 90%, clearing the way to open the land to oil and gas companies. He argued in his proclamations that doing so would allow lands to be “put to a higher-priority use” and that they contained critical minerals important to “resource independence …[and] national security”.
Trump previously targeted the monuments, which are sacred to tribes, in his first term. Joe Biden ultimately overturned it.
Patagonia sued Trump in 2017 when he first sought to downsize the public lands in Utah. His proclamations earlier this year represented an even more dramatic reduction of the monuments than he sought in his first term.
The retailer announced on Wednesday it was joining a lawsuit to put a stop to what it described as illegal orders that “betray Tribal sovereignty”.
“We will not stand idly by while anti-public lands crusaders attempt to exploit these lands for their extractive-industry friends or disrespect tribal nations,” Ryan Gellert, the company’s CEO, said in a statement.
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/02/trump-patagonia-lawsuit-utah-national-monuments
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