Bears Ears Monument Violates Separation of Powers, Scholars Say

Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument and other monuments like it are unconstitutional because they were created by violating the separation of powers between the White House and Congress, scholars at a conservative legal clinic said this week in a brief filed in litigation aimed at the Supreme Court.

Article IV of the Constitution grants Congress sole authority to regulate federal land, even though Congress granted the president the right to create national monuments under the Antiquities Act, according to the amicus brief.

The Antiquities Act is one of the primary tools presidents use to protect cultural sites and wildlife ...