Several major outdoor companies opposed President Donald Trump’s recent announcement that he will shrink two Utah national monuments. Outdoor recreation company Patagonia made its website black, and the following text could be read on it: “The President Stole Your Land.”
Patagonia’s founder Yvon Chouinard, as well as a coalition of conservationists, filed a suit in federal court on Wednesday against the Trump administration to protect the status of Bears Ears National Monument.
“I think the only thing this administration understands is lawsuits,” Chouinard said.
The coalition includes Native American, conservation, and historic preservation groups, whose lawsuit seeks to “declare unlawful President Trump’s December 4, 2017, proclamation that revoked the Bear Ears National Monument and replaced it with two new ‘units.’”
They argue that under the Antiquities Act of 1906, the president does not have the authority to revoke the monument. The coalition wants the original configuration of the monument restored.
“Americans have overwhelmingly spoken out against the Trump Administration’s unprecedented attempt to shut down our national monuments. The Administration’s unlawful actions betray our shared responsibility to protect iconic places for future generations and represent the largest elimination of protected land in American history,” Patagonia President and CEO Rose Marcario said in a statement Wednesday after the filing.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said the administration’s decision would not be changed due to the lawsuit and added that special interest groups are using the issue to raise money. He further accused Patagonia of lying that the president “stole land,” as the land from the monument will remain under federal jurisdiction.
“The argument that somehow President Trump stole land is nefarious, false and a lie,” Zinke said.
According to Outdoor Industry Association Executive Director Amy Roberts, businesses that rely on travel to the monuments are worried about how this decision will affect them. Patagonia’s CEO Rose Marcario also said the company’s business relied “directly on public lands, like Indian Creek in Bears Ears, which hosts world-class climbing.”
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