Documents Show Destructive Industry Influencing Monument Review
President Trump and Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke have arbitrarily selected 27 of our national monuments for review, and Zinke is expected to issue recommendations later this week on whether to reduce or eliminate some of the monuments as if they are contestants in some corrupt beauty pageant. Zinke has already deemed six as worth protecting, citing reasons that could apply to all 27. The other 21 face an uncertain future, probably driven largely by industry's desire to access and destroy more of our public lands for profit. Removing protections from these national monuments likely will spark a legal battle that will determine the future of vast swaths of public lands. At issue is a simple question: is any President allowed to reduce or eliminate a national monument established by a previous President? If the answer is yes, we undo our promise of sharing millions of acres of protected wildlands with future generations. Eagerly urging the administration's review of th