The fear on the part of some environmentalists and administration critics regarding the review is that it could be a step toward rescinding or altering their designation as federally protected monuments, including possibly reducing the size of the protected lands, and that it could open up the territories to exploitation by the oil and gas industries.
In asking Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke for an unprecedented review of national monuments, Trump may force a question never before tested in the 111-year history of the Antiquities Act: Whether one president can nullify a previous president's proclamation establishing a national monument.
Trump also is taking aim at Obama's action to restrict offshore drilling, notably a December order designating the bulk of US -owned waters in the Arctic Ocean and certain areas in the Atlantic Ocean as indefinitely off limits to future oil and gas leasing.
"The president believes, like I do, that numerous neighbours in the western states of the federal government can be a good neighbour", Mr Zinke said.
Zinke, a self-proclaimed conservationist, said, "We can protect areas of cultural and economic importance and even use federal lands for economic development when appropriate - just as Teddy Roosevelt envisioned".
Trump's order is expected to instruct the Interior Department to review every designation since President Clinton created Utah's 1.9 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument in 1996.
More than any other president, Obama used the Antiquities Act to recognize sites that "reflect the full story of our country" - including monuments important to the gay rights movement, Latinos, labor unions, African Americans, Japanese Americans, and women. The public overwhelmingly supports national parks and national monuments.
Zinke did not say which other national monuments the administration was specifically targeting, but did promise to decide on the status of Bears Ears in the next 45 days.
In Utah for Bears Ears in particular, Zinke said he plans to discuss the designation with members of the state's congressional delegation, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, elected officials in San Juan County and people on the ground in the region.
Astros' Keuchel wins again; Altuve OK after scary collision
The injury to Hernandez looked to be a serious knee injury and Altuve left having been clotheslined and at risk of a concussion. Houston began the fifth with four straight hits, including Norichika Aoki's RBI single that tied the game.
Ancient rock art inside the newly created Bears Ears National Monument near Bluff.
On Wednesday, President Trump will unveil his latest effort to undermine our bedrock environmental protections.
But Ethan Lane, executive director of the Public Lands Council at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, said it was time for the administration to scrutinize how the Antiquities Act has been applied and "update" the law itself.
Local lawmakers and community leaders are wary about President Donald Trump's call for a review of national monument designations, including two on the North Coast.
Kristina Waggoner, vice president of the Boulder-Escalante Chamber of Commerce in Utah, said businesses near the Grand Staircase-Escalante monument in southern Utah are booming, driven by sharp increases in tourism since the area was designated in 1996 by President Bill Clinton.
In his remarks, the president made specific mention of Bears Ears National Monument.
Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch also condemned Bears Ears and other monuments Obama created.
We recently asked you to support our journalism.
Comments