The Trump administration’s plan for shrinking and diminishing protections at America’s national monuments appears far more expansive than previously reported, targeting 10 of the nation’s most ecologically sensitive landscapes and marine preserves for diminished protection.

The plan, which the White House has been keeping secret since it was submitted by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke late last month, would shrink the borders at half a dozen monuments and ocean preserves and open four others up for uses such as commercial fishing, logging and coal mining, according to a copy of the blueprint obtained by the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post.

Full story »

Bears Ears

(Francisco Kjolseth / Associated Press)

Established Dec. 28, 2016: The 1.3-million-acre Bears Ears National Monument in the remote desert canyonlands of southern Utah was designated by President Obama , who created more national monuments than any other president. The Bears Ears designation angered Republican politicians in Utah, who want the land available for possible gas, oil and mining use — and who directed Trump’s attention to the issue of national monuments. The president said that the Bears Ears designation “never should have happened” and that it was part of “this massive federal land grab that’s gotten worse and worse and worse.”

Northeast Canyons and Seamounts

(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Established Sept. 15, 2016: Designated by President Obama, it is the first marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean. The monument, encompassing 4,913 square miles off the coast of New England, protects ecological resources and species including deep-sea corals; sperm, fin, and sei whales; Kemp's ridley sea turtles; and deep-sea fish.

Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks

(Bureau of Land Management)

Established May 21, 2014: This is the land of famed Western legends like Billy the Kid and Geronimo. The Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument’s 496,000 acres surround Las Cruces, N.M., and include mountains and the southwestern Chihuahuan Desert. The area, which also features canyons lined in petroglyphs, was a training ground for World War II bomber pilots and crews and the Apollo space program.

Rio Grande del Norte

( Bureau of Land Management)

Established March 25, 2013: The rugged, wide-open plains of the 242,500-acre Rio Grande del Norte National Monument average an elevation of 7,000 feet. The Bureau of Land Management describes it as being “dotted by volcanic cones and cut by steep canyons with rivers tucked away in their depths.” Ute Mountain is the highest of the volcanic cones, reaching to more than 10,000 feet.

Pacific Remote Islands

(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Established Jan. 6, 2009, and enlarged Sept. 25, 2014: The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument includes Wake, Baker, Howland and Jarvis islands; Johnston and Palmyra atolls; and Kingman Reef, which lie to the south and west of Hawaii. At 490,000 square miles, it’s the largest marine protected area in the world.

Rose Atoll

(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Established Jan. 6, 2009: This George W. Bush-designated marine national monument, encompassing nearly 13,400 square miles in the South Pacific Ocean, includes Rose Atoll, a small Samoan island and the southernmost point of the U.S. The monument also includes Rose Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1973, with about 20 acres of land and 1,600 acres of lagoon. The waters surrounding the atoll are home to rare giant clams and reef sharks, as well as an abundance of striking rose-colored corals. The island is a nesting site for rare species of petrels, shearwaters and terns.

Grand Staircase-Escalante

(Universal Images Group)

Established Sept. 18, 1996: The 1.8-million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah is distinguished by colorful cliffs, labyrinthine canyons and high desert plateaus. When it was designated a national monument by President Clinton, a coalition of local counties sued.

Cascade-Siskiyou

Pilot Rock rises into the clouds in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument near Lincoln, Ore. (Jeff Barnard / Associated Press)

Gold Butte

Petroglyphs at Gold Butte National Monument in Gold Butte, Nev. (Christian K. Lee / Associated Press)

Katahdin Woods and Waters