Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Whose National Parks and Monuments Are They? by Peter Reum

People tend to think of public lands as being set aside for recreation, energy development, and wildlife protection. The answer to that question is not as simple as it might seem. There is constant clashing over public land purposes, especially when precious metals, oil, ranching, and recreation and wilderness are at odds. The National Parks are designated as such by an act of both houses of Congress with the recommendation of The Executive Branch. A law called the Antiquities Act of 1906 permits the President to set aside unique national landmarks and natural areas for preservation and visitation by the general public. Interestingly, many current National Parks began their existence as National Monuments first. In addition to these designations, there are wildlife refuges, national forests, wilderness areas, and other minor designations for public lands that have to do with the general public and are for public use.

Under the Obama Administration a number of National Monuments were designated for public use. The Trump Administration has questioned the status of 27 of these new National Monuments, and has designated Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke as  the person to complete these reviews. Zinke is a former Congressman from Montana, and was an early Trump supporter during the 2016 elections. He is someone who said that he is a person who will support the National Parks System while serving in Congress. The overall orientation of the Trump administration  has been very pro oil, natural gas, and mineral extraction in its first six months in office. The review of the 27 National Monuments has been whittled down from 27 monuments to 20, with 7 monuments being designated for retaining their status as it has been. There is also a review recommending privatization of all hotel and camping facilities in the National Park System. There is strong opposition to the review, with 1.2 million citizens submitting signatures demanding that the designated 27 monuments for review be retained as National Monuments as they currently are. The Trump Administration is actively contemplating a judicial review of the 1906 Antiquities Act, and Zinke's review is the first phase.

A source inside the Interior Department recently leaked a copy of Zinke's recommendations for Trump to the press, and at least 10 of the National Monuments were targeted for either downsizing, road buildings, or mining. The topography of the targeted monuments is near wilderness quality. Among the National Monuments targeted are 2 in New Mexico, 2 in Utah, 1 in Nevada.

If you so inclined, you can send letters to President Trump, and should he be inundated, the unpopularity of Zinke's report, may lead to more pristine types of land preservation. This effort by Trump to privatize the National Parks and Monuments and open them to mining or downsizing. Once compromised, this horrible list of Zinke's recommemdations leading to the gutting of these national monuments may be made irrelevant. Thank you for whatever efforts you choose to make to halt these mush headed recommendations.




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