A Utah judge has summarily shot down the first of three lawsuits filed by the environmental group Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance claiming county commissions violated open meeting requirements when they met privately with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and other federal officials last year.
In court filings, San Juan County argued that its commissioners’ conversations with Zinke on shrinking or rescinding Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Esclante national monuments were not covered under the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act since counties have no say over national monument designations or adjustments, a power held only by Congress or the president of the United States.