Ryan Zinke is the United States secretary of the Interior. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) Across our great land, objects of cultural and historic significance tell the story of our nation. From the Statue of Liberty to the birthplace of George Washington, preserving our American heritage means protecting these objects. In 1906, President Teddy Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act, giving the President power to proclaim objects on federal lands as national monuments and to reserve the smallest area of land compatible with their protection as part of the monument designation.

Ryan Zinke

In recent years, however, presidents have abused the Antiquities Act to lock up vast swaths of public land. The "smallest area compatible" requirement has become the exception, rather than the rule, as public access, hunting and fishing, and use of private property are restricted

Often, these designations are made without the support of the people on the ground. With this in mind, President Donald Trump directed me, in April, to review recent national monument designations under the Antiquities Act.

President Trump was absolutely right to order this review. The President pledged during the campaign that the forgotten men and women of this country would be forgotten no more, and he is delivering on that promise. I met with countless local stakeholders, rode the range with ranchers, spoke with conservationists, and spent time with Native American tribal leaders, trying to understand the effect that these monument designations have had on everyday Americans.

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I sat down with people on all sides of the issue to listen to their perspectives and from those conversations, formed my recommendations to the President. What I found was that we can all agree on wanting to protect these objects of historic or scientific interest while ensuring public access to public land. True conservation, based on the philosophy of multiple-use on our public lands, has been the American way for decades.

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