National Monument Reduction: What Are We Really Losing?

[Tucker Ballister]

Companion forum thread to: National Monument Reduction: What Are We Really Losing?

Late last year, United States President Donald Trump took action for national monument reduction in Utah, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante. This article explores the issues.

[Kristin Tennessen]

Thanks for addressing this issue here on BPL. I found your article thoughtful and well-sourced. I try to keep an open mind about all politicians regardless of political party, and judge them on their policies and what they do (not what they say). I am having a really hard time continuing that practice with the current president, because I’m not sure he cares about or respects anyone except for himself and other rich business persons. So, I have a hard time believing that his reason for rolling back national monuments is nothing other than to make someone a handsome profit on the backs of hard-working tax-paying Americans. We’ll see what happens….

[Thomas Rayl]

What I did not see clearly spelled out here is that President Obama at the end of his term created a HISTORIC amount of national monument designations.  I am not personally aware of any public comment period prior to these designations.  President Trump reviewed this set of designations and decided to roll back SOME of them.  The overall effect of these two executive actions, I believe, is a significant INCREASE in the amount of national monument land.  I’m sorry I do not have a good link to a detailed statistical comparison…perhaps someone else out there?  Everybody is entitled to their own opinion and to express it, but let’s please try to keep ourselves above partisianism and discuss the issues on their true merits.

 

[Ken Thompson]

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-blumm-hoffmann-validity-of-national-monument-designations-20170120-story.html

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