President Trump Set to Eliminate Key Protections for National Monuments in Utah
WASHINGTON — President Trump is today expected to announce a plan to strip protections from two national monuments in Utah, according to several media reports. The order could shrink the boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, axing key protections for thousands of acres of public lands. These national monuments have limited potential for fossil fuel exploration but have long been targeted for uranium mining. In response, Alan Zibel, a research director with Public Citizen, issued the following statement:
“The Trump administration is heeding the interests of extreme ideologues who want to sell off our nation’s most treasured national public lands for private profit. The actions by Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, represent a clear violation of a 120-year-old federal law giving presidents the power to designate national monuments but not the power to shrink previously created national monuments.
“In addition, Trump and Burgum’s actions show a complete disregard for the sovereignty of Indigenous tribes that have long fought against the mining, processing, and transport of radioactive uranium in America’s Southwest. ”
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