Zinke expressed disapproval, in a press briefing yesterday (April 25), of the way national monument designation worked prior to this order.
Last year, Obama designated 1.3 million acres of federal land as Bears Ears National monument, and in 1996, Bill Clinton protected the 1.9 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
If Trump is able to roll back national monument designation, it could allow the federal government to sell those lands or open them up for development, a move that would please developers and some local communities that rely on natural resources for income.
Trump accused the previous administration of using the act to "unilaterally put millions of acres of land and water under strict federal control" - a practice he derailed as "a massive federal land grab". They view numerous monuments as being opportunities for the government to snatch up land, despite the feelings of local residents.
"With this review, the Trump Administration is walking into a legal, political and moral minefield", said Kate Kelly, public lands director for the Center for American Progress. The president had the power, without public input, to designate monuments.
"Let's be clear", said Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.
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Obama's administration created the Bears Ears monument arguing that it would protect the cultural legacy of the Navajo and four other tribes and preserve "scenic and historic landscapes".
This calls into question the objective of Zinke's review, which will involve 25 monuments - including the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in southern Oregon. "Normally, when you do a land use project, we normally NEPA. Earthjustice stands ready to defend the Antiquities Act and the national monuments protected under the law".
Environmentalists and the outdoor recreation industry aren't standing for President Donald Trump's new executive order that threatens to rescind, shrink or resize dozens of recent national monument designations, including seven in California.
The Antiquities Act of 1906 authorizes the president to declare federal lands as monuments and restrict how the lands can be used. The point of this executive order, Zinke said, is to "give states and local communities a meaningful voice in the process".
But it would also anger conservationists and some Native American groups, who hold certain national monuments sacred. But the executive order itself also calls on Interior to review monuments "where the Secretary determines that the designation or expansion was made without adequate public outreach and coordination with relevant stakeholders". And regions surrounding national monuments have seen continued growth in employment, personal income, and increased per capita income. President Barack Obama designated it during his last days in office.
Zenke said, "However, "smallest area" has too often become the exception rather than the rule".
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