Battle resumes to reverse ruling upholding Utah Grand Staircase

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.

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.