As interior secretary recommends boundary changes to Donald Trump, three national monuments are reportedly at risk of being reduced in size

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

In April, Donald Trump ordered a sweeping review of 27 national monuments, from Maine to Oregon. The monuments were set aside over the last three decades by Bill Clinton, George W Bush, and Barack Obama. Trump’s review sought to explore whether the protected land should be opened up to create economic opportunities for industries such as oil, gas, mining and timber.

US public lands: Trump official recommends shrinking national monuments Read more

Today, Trump’s interior secretary Ryan Zinke delivered the results of the review to the president, recommending that boundary changes be made to a “handful” of monuments. While Zinke has not made his recommendations public, The Washington Post reports that the following monuments are targeted to be reduced in size or opened to industrial use.

Bears Ears national monument in Utah

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Obama created the 1.3m-acre Bears Ears national monument in Utah to protect land that is sacred to Native Americans. Photograph: Francisco Kjolseth/AP

History: Designated in December 2016 by Barack Obama, Bears Ears National Monument is a 1.35m-acre expanse of mesas, buttes and Native American archaeological sites that sprawls across south-eastern Utah.



Features: Bears Ears’ many splendors include a series of stunning rock bridges as well as the aptly-named Grand Gulch, an intricate canyon system thick with thousand-year-old ruins.

Trump’s plan: In early June, secretary of the interior Ryan Zinke recommended that Trump reduce the size of the monument, though he did not say by how much. Now, the Washington Post is reporting that Zinke has sent a formal recommendation to the White House about Bears Ears.

Leading the resistance: If the administration attempts to follow through on Zinke’s recommendation, it will likely meet stiff resistance from some of the monument’s supporters in the conservation and Native American communities, chief among them organizations like the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition.



Read more about Bears Ears: Trump urged to cut Bears Ears monument to ‘smallest area’ possible

Grand Staircase-Escalante national monument in Utah

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Dramatic light and clouds makes this Utah scene pop on a late afternoon at the Pahreah river. Photograph: Chris Boswell/Getty Images/iStockphoto

History: A whopping 1.9m acres in size, south-central Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante was set aside by Clinton in 1996 and is the largest terrestrial national monument in the United States.

Features: The monument contains a series of gigantic plateaus and cliffs, called the Grand Staircase, as well as a string of deep gorges known as the Escalante River Canyons. Together these attributes make the place a geological treasure, dotted here and there with Native American ruins, arches, monoliths and more.

Trump’s plan: A new report says Grand Staircase-Escalante is on the list of monuments Zinke has recommended changes to.

Leading the resistance: The monument, which has been controversial since its inception, still boasts many allies and advocates, including a passionate local support group called Grand Staircase-Escalante Partners, as well as the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.



Cascade-Siskiyou national monument in Oregon

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Pilot Rock at Cascade-Siskiyou national monument in Oregon. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

History: The first national monument established solely to protect its rich biodiversity, Clinton deemed the Cascade-Siskiyou an “ecological wonderland” when he first protected it at about 52,000 acres in 2000. In his final week in office, Obama responded to the calls of local conservationists and scientists and expanded the monument, adding to it approximately 48,000 acres.

Features: Apart from its abundant animal and plant life, this landscape in southwestern Oregon also features Pilot Rock, a towering basalt protrusion formed from the remains of an ancient volcano.

Trump’s plan: Zinke’s review recommends changes to this monument, according to reports.

Leading the resistance: Should Trump try to rollback the Cascade-Siskiyou’s recent expansion, outspoken conservation organizations like the local Soda Mountain Wilderness Council and Oregon Wild will almost certainly be taking him to court.



Read more about Cascade-Siskiyou: Trump’s day of doom for national monuments approaches



