A giant sequoia tree dwarfs the surrounding forest along the Trail of the 100 Giants which was threatened by the out-of-control McNally Fire on 25 July 2002 in the Sequoia National Monument north of Kernville, California. Photo: David McNew / Getty Images

By Gregory Korte
26 April 2017 WASHINGTON (USA Today) – President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday calling into question the future of more than two dozen national monuments proclaimed by the last three presidents to set aside millions of acres from development. 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. Signing the executive order at the Department of the Interior Wednesday, Trump called President Barack Obama’s creation of national monuments an “egregious abuse use of power.” “And it’s gotten worse and worse and worse, and now we’re going to free it up,” he said. “This should never have happened.” ​Trump’s executive order takes aim at 21 years of proclamations beginning in 1996. That time frame encompasses the “bookends” of two of the most controversial national monument designations in recent history: President Clinton’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in 1996 to President Obama’s Bears Ears National Monument in 2016. Both are in Utah, and faced opposition from the congressional delegation and state officials. Zinke’s review could lead to a recommendation that Trump rescind, resize or modify existing national monuments, and conservation groups say the order endangers monuments that should be permanently protected because of their beauty, wildlife and vulnerability. “This review is a first step towards monument rollbacks, which we will fight all the way,” said Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council. “These public lands belong to all of us.” [more]

Trump executive order could rescind national monuments The moon, and stars shine in the sky over the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona. Photo: Ian Plant / Barcroft Media / Getty Images

By Gregory Korte
26 April 2017 WASHINGTON (USA Today) – At least two dozen national monuments are at risk of losing their federally protected status as a result of President Trump’s executive order asking for an unprecedented review of their designations. Under the 1906 Antiquities Act, either Congress or the President can protect federal lands by designating them as a national monument. And while Congress has occasionally revoked that status for existing monuments, no president ever has. Trump’s order opens the door to that possibility. Trump is targeting all or part of monuments that make up 100,000 acres or more, and were created by presidential proclamation since 1996. The White House released a list of 24 of them on Wednesday. They are:

  • Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, proclaimed by President Clinton in 1996 (1.7 million acres).
  • Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument in Arizona, proclaimed by Clinton in 2000 (1 million acres).
  • Giant Sequoia National Monument in California, proclaimed by Clinton in 2000 (327,769 acres).
  • Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona, proclaimed by Clinton in 2000 (279,568 acres).
  • Hanford Reach National Monument in Washington, proclaimed by Clinton in 2000 (194,450 acres).
  • Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in Colorado, proclaimed by Clinton in 2000 (175,160 acres).
  • Ironwood Forest National Monument in Arizona, proclaimed by Clinton in 2000 (128,917 acres).
  • Sonoran Desert National Monument in Arizona, proclaimed by Clinton in 2001 (486,149 acres).
  • Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument in Montana, proclaimed by Clinton in 2001 (377,346 acres).
  • Carrizo Plain National Monument in California, proclaimed by Clinton in 2001 (204,107 acres).
  • Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the Pacific Ocean, proclaimed by President George W. Bush in 2006 and expanded by President Barack Obama in 2016 (89.6 million acres).
  • Marianas Trench Marine National Monument in the Pacific Ocean, proclaimed by Bush in 2009 (60.9 million acres).
  • Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument in the Pacific Ocean, proclaimed by Bush in 2009 and enlarged by Obama in 2014 (55.6 million acres).
  • Rose Atoll Marine National Monument in American Samoa, proclaimed by Bush in 2009 (8.6 million acres).
  • Rio Grande del Norte National Monument in New Mexico, proclaimed by Obama in 2013 (242,555 acres).
  • Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument in New Mexico, proclaimed by Obama in 2014 (496,330 acres).
  • Basin and Range National Monument in Nevada, proclaimed by Obama in 2015 (703,585 acres).
  • Berryessa Snow Mountain in California, proclaimed by Obama in 2015 (330,780 acres).
  • Northeast Canyons & Seamounts Marine National Monument in the Atlantic Ocean, proclaimed by Obama in 2016 (3.1 million acres).
  • Mojave Trails National Monument in California, proclaimed by Obama in 2016 (1.6 million acres).
  • Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, proclaimed by Obama in 2016 (1.4 million acres).
  • Gold Butte National Monument in Nevada, proclaimed by Obama in 2016 (296,937 acres).
  • Sand to Snow National Monument in California, proclaimed by Obama in 2016 (154,000 acres).
  • The San Gabriel Mountains National Monument in California, proclaimed by Obama in 2014 (346,177 acres), is another national monument that meets the 100,000-acre threshold but was not included on the White House list. [more]

24 national monuments threatened by Trump’s executive order