Three Arizona congressmen are asking the Trump Administration to eliminate four of the state's national monuments, including the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument and the Sonoran Desert National Monument.

Rep. Trent Franks, Rep. Andy Biggs and Rep. Paul Gosar, all Republicans, were among 14 members of Congress who signed onto a letter sent June 30 to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke.

The letter was in response to Zinke's request for congressional input on 27 national monuments that are under review following President Donald Trump's executive order.

The letter asked Zinke to consider a "total rescission" of the Grand Canyon-Parashant, Ironwood Forest, Sonoran Desert and Vermilion Cliffs national monuments.

Former President Bill Clinton designated all four under the 1906 Antiquities Act, which gives the president power to create national monuments from federal lands in order to protect significant landmarks in the area.

The letter charged that although the Antiquities Act had "good intentions," it became a "tyrannical tool that presidents have manipulated to exercise unfettered land grabs to the detriment of state and local interests."

Grand Canyon-Parashant

The one million-acre Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument on the northern edge of the Grand Canyon, according to the letter writers, is a "glaring example of overreach that used the Antiquities Act as a scapegoat."

The letter stated that prior to Clinton's designation of the monument in 2000, the Bureau of Land Management had drawn up an appropriate boundary for the monument that was significantly smaller at about 570,000 acres.

The letter stated that having more than one million acres of locked land has caused "disruption to collaborative fish and wildlife management and recreational activities," and has ignored the needs of key stakeholders.

Ironwood Forest

The lawmakers also called for the elimination of the Ironwood Forest National Monument near Tucson, saying that the nearly 129,000-acre area "prevents multiple-use on State Trust lands and has subsequently caused harm to the common schools beneficiary, K-12 education."

Revenue from state trust land sales and use goes to help fund Arizona public schools.

A "large amount" of the land in the monument belongs to the Arizona State School Land Trust, according to the letter.

The letter also stated that Clinton's proclamation of the area prohibited mineral and geothermal energy production and enacted a complete ban on shooting in the area.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department, the letter said, has been "unable to fully implement vital management activities" in the area such as fencing, predator control and responding to reports of illegal activities.

Sonoran Desert

The letter also requested the elimination of the Sonoran Desert National Monument, saying the 486,000 acres "jeopardizes national security" because of its close proximity to the border.

More than 85 percent of the land adjacent to the border belongs to the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture, meaning Border Patrol agents have to receive permission from agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service before conducting routine checks, according to the letter.

"When response times are paramount, bureaucratic red tape only hinders effective border patrol operations," the letter states.

The letter also states the monument's designation has caused ire for sportsmen and recreational enthusiasts because of its prohibition on recreational shooting that has spurred "expensive litigation."

Vermilion Cliffs

The 280,000-acre Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona was also on the chopping block, with the letter stating it has "caused unnecessary administrative burdens for the state of Arizona in relation to managing wildlife" since its designation in 2000 under Clinton.

The letter said the monument's designation has caused animals to be "placed in less suitable situations" and that there was already an effective management plan in place for the area prior to its designation as a national monument.

Other targets

Also on the list was the 704,000-acre Basin and Range National Monument in Nevada that Obama designated in 2015.

The letter asked Zinke to consider shrinking the size of the monument to 2,500 acres.

The letter also called for a total rescission of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in California and the Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bear Ears national monuments in Utah, among others.

Other monuments were mentioned on the list, but the lawmakers only asked that their size be diminished instead of eliminated altogether.