27 National Monuments Under Review By Interior Department Could Lose Protections

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Interior Department has identified 27 national monuments for review, which could potentially curtail protections to the monuments or lead to them no longer being national monuments, in accordance with an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in April.

The monuments under review include 22 land monuments and five marine preserves in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Most of the land monuments are in the western United States, including the states of California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Washington and New Mexico. The Katahadin Woods and Waters in Maine is also under review and is the only monument that is less than 100,000 acres, the minimum size a monument has to be to be placed under review, as stipulated by the executive order.

Under the Antiquities Act of 1906, presidents can designate federal lands and waters as national monuments, limiting their use.

In signing the order, Trump said the protections put in place by his predecessors amounted to “a massive federal land grab” that “should never have happened,” the Associated Press reports.

"Monument designations that result from a lack of public outreach and proper coordination with State, tribal, and local officials and other relevant stakeholders may also create barriers to achieving energy independence, restrict public access to and use of Federal lands, burden State, tribal, and local governments, and otherwise curtail economic growth," the Executive Order states. "Designations should be made in accordance with the requirements and original objectives of the Act and appropriately balance the protection of landmarks, structures, and objects against the appropriate use of Federal lands and the effects on surrounding lands and communities."

Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said there will be a public comment period for members of the public to weigh in on the designations. A notice will be published in the Federal Register, following which any comment relating to the Bears Ears National Monument must be submitted within 15 days and comment on any other monuments must be made within 60 days.

The monuments identified for review are:

• Basin and Range, Nevada
• Bears Ears, Utah
• Berryessa Snow Mountain, California
• Canyons of the Ancients, Colorado
• Carrizo Plain, California
• Cascade Siskiyou, Oregon
• Craters of the Moon, Idaho
• Giant Sequoia, California
• Gold Butte, Nevada
• Grand Canyon-Parashant, Arizona
• Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah
• Hanford Reach, Washington
• Ironwood Forest, Arizona
• Mojave Trails, California
• Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks, New Mexico
• Rio Grande del Norte, New Mexico
• Sand to Snow, California
• San Gabriel Mountains, California
• Sonoran Desert, Arizona
• Upper Missouri River Breaks, Montana
• Vermilion Cliffs, Arizona
• Katahadin Woods and Waters, Maine
• Marianas Trench, CNMI/Pacific Ocean
• Northeast Canyons and Seamounts, Atlantic Ocean
• Pacific Remote Islands, Pacific Ocean
• Papahanaumokuakea, Hawaii/Pacific Ocean
• Rose Atoll, American Samoa/Pacific Ocean

Bears Ears National Monument in Utah is a particularly contentious monument, which was given the designation by President Obama at the tail end of his presidency. Locals who oppose the designation say they feel offended that in announcing the protections, the federal government sent a message that the land was being threatened, NPR reports. However, an overwhelming majority of tribes in the region support the designation.

Photo: The Upper Gulch section of the Escalante Canyons within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument features sheer sandstone walls, broken occasionally by tributary canyons, shown in an undated photo. (AP Photo/Jerry Sintz)