Southwestern tribes are asking President Joe Biden to restore and expand Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument beyond its original Obama-era boundaries—a move that GOP-aligned attorneys warn carries potential legal and political consequences.
The attorneys said that if Biden goes bigger than then-President Barack Obama did on Bears Ears, it could further inflame GOP tensions over the monument and eventually undermine the new president’s plans if Republicans regain power in Congress in 2022 or if courts place limitations on the Antiquities Act. The act gives presidents the power to create monuments.
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/tribes-ask-biden-to-go-big-on-utah-monument-as-litigation-pivots