ELR Citation: 55 ELR 20013
No(s). CV-24-08026-PCT-SMM (D. Ariz. Jan 27, 2025) (McNamee, J.)

A district court granted the Biden Administration's motion to dismiss a challenge to the president's 2023 designation of Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni—Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. The Arizona state legislature, a cattle rancher, and other plaintiffs argued Proclamation No. 10606 exceeded the president's authority to designate national monuments under the Antiquities Act. The government moved to dismiss for lack of standing. The court found the legislature's alleged injuries belonged to the state, and that the rancher's alleged fears of prosecution for damaging grass or moving pottery shards did not amount to a substantial threat of criminal penalties being enforced on him. Because neither party had established standing, it granted the motion to dismiss.