President Donald Trump has asked Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to review national monuments created using the Antiquities Act by presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama since Jan. 1, 1996. The review, the first in the act’s 111-year history, includes those that encompass more than 100,000 acres and leaves room for review of monuments of all sizes considered to have been expanded or designated without adequate public outreach, with an eye to shrinking them or even possibly reversing designations.
As he performs his review, Zinke should listen to voices in favor of the monuments as much as those in Trump’s base who oppose them, because supporters, too, are constituents. Most importantly, the administration must consider resource protection. Trump is systematically dismantling clean air and clean water regulations, and now he is moving toward opening public lands to greater development. It is not hard to see who will benefit from Trump’s changes.
Zinke must carefully weigh the loss of tourism and the short- and long-term costs of energy and mineral development to the environment and nearby communities alongside the benefits of those industries. The greatest beneficiaries of reduced protections, including for national monuments, are not likely to be breathing local air and drinking local water. Societal costs associated with compromised public health must be considered as well.
The executive order currently affects over 50 monuments nationwide. In Colorado, it will affect the 176,000-acre Canyons of the Ancients National Monument west of Cortez, and potentially Browns Canyon near Buena Vista, and Chimney Rock, between Bayfield and Pagosa Springs.
Bears Ears National Monument, in southeastern Utah, probably was the final straw for Republicans, who generally oppose federal land ownership. It is 1,351,849 acres, or 2,112 square miles, and newly designated by President Obama on Dec. 28, 2016. Utah’s congressional delegation and many state leaders opposed it. However, it received strong support from a coalition of five tribal nations, three of which hold tribal lands in Utah. Bears Ears has strong support from outdoor retailers, who are moving their industry’s largest trade show from Salt Lake City in response to state leaders’ attempts to undo the Bears Ears designation.
The president’s characterization of the monuments as “a massive federal land grab” is wrong on two counts. First, monuments have been established only on federally owned or controlled land. The Antiquities Act cannot be used to seize private and state lands. Second, national monuments are less restrictive than, for example, national parks. Grazing and resource extraction are conducted on many of them, including in the Canyons of the Ancients, which hosts significant energy activity.
We hope Zinke, formerly a congressional representative from Montana, has a more nuanced view of public lands than President Trump. National monuments have their critics, but they also have substantial support and provide concrete benefits. It is a pipe dream to believe that the states can afford to manage these lands or that industry will protect them. Monument designations provide an appropriate vehicle for preserving our country’s unique historic, cultural and natural heritage.
The House Federal Lands Subcommittee, on which Rep. Scott Tipton (R-Cortez) serves, is holding an oversight hearing on the Antiquities Act today. We hope he will stand up for our national monuments, as he did with the designation of Chimney Rock, that for more than 100 years have enjoyed broad public support.
