Environmental groups sue Trump for reducing national monument

Environmental groups filed a lawsuit against President Trump on Monday for reducing the size of a national monument by half, The Associated Press reported.

Earthjustice filed the suit Monday on behalf of several organizations, just hours after Trump announced the decision to shrink the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah.

{mosads}Former President Clinton established the monument in 1996.

Trump’s order nearly halved the size of the monument, reducing it from 1.9 million acres to about 1 million acres.

“Some people think that the natural resources of Utah should be controlled by a small handful of very distant bureaucrats located in Washington. And guess what? They’re wrong,” Trump said during his announcement.

“The families and communities of Utah know and love this land the best and you know the best how to take care of your land.”

Trump said that he was also reducing the size of the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.

The Navajo Nation has promised to sue Trump over the decision to shrink Bears Ears, and outdoor retailer Patagonia also said it will take legal action against Trump.