Lawsuits challenging downsizing of monuments to stay in DC

Lawsuits brought by conservation, tribal and paleontological groups challenging the constitutionality of President Donald Trump's decision to shrink two Utah national monuments will remain in a court in Washington, D.C., after a judge on Monday denied the U.S. government's request to move the cases to Salt Lake City. Government officials were also ordered to give two days of notice to the groups suing before any ground disturbances, such as mining, occur within the boundaries of the original monuments, according to a decision issued by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan pertaining to five lawsuits over the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. She didn't elaborate on why she decided to keep the cases in Washington, D.C. The Justice Department declined comment, said spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle. The agency's lawyers argued in January that the interest in the cases in Utah outweighed the decision by the groups to sue in Washington, D.C. Conservation groups applauded a decision they believe keeps the cases where they belong and moves them closer to a review of the root of the case: Whether Trump exceeded his authority. Past presidents have trimmed national monuments 18 times, but there's never been a court ruling about whether the Antiquities Act allows that action...MORE